Fewer closures in 2010 but many firms are still walking an economic tightrope January 5, 2011 FAR fewer struggling UK companies fell into administration in 2010 compared with 2009, Deloitte research showed yesterday. Insolvencies fell by 35 per cent, or by 1,102 companies last year, to 2,086 in 2010 from 3,188 in 2009, analysis of notices in the London Gazette over the year showed. Policymakers have worked to keep the business [...]
FTSE hits 31-month high on first close of 2011 January 4, 2011 LONDON saw a storming start to 2011 as the FTSE moved above the 6,000 level in the year’s first trading session to close at a 31-month high. The FTSE 100 moved up 1.9 per cent or 113.93 points to close at 6,013.87, its highest level since June 2008, buoyed by rises on US and European [...]
Salaries in London on the rise January 4, 2011 Salaries are growing in London, according to an employment survey. The London Reed job index is at 105, compared with 100 a year ago. Reed said skills shortages are pushing up pay with salaries in consultancy and retail up 20 per cent on the start of 2010. Martin Warnes of Reed said: “Jobs growth and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA TRAVEL GROUP PULLS OUT OF AIM Et-China.com International Holdings, the Chinese travel specialist, will today become the first company to quit Aim this year. Shares in the company, which raised £4.4m at 127p a share when it joined Aim in August 2007, were suspended at 103 1/2p in July because of its [...]
Coalition’s VAT hike slammed by all sides January 3, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne was caught in the political crossfire as the UK braced itself for today’s rise in VAT to 20 per cent. The tax hike will cost families £400 a year and risk up to 250,000 jobs, Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed while on the by-election campaign trail in Oldham yesterday. Osborne accused the [...]
The broker who says small firms have to come up with big solutions January 3, 2011 The conventional wisdom is that it is next to impossible for small firms to raise cash, but Phil Adams, chief executive at independent investment broker Altium, says that the picture is more complicated than that. “It is pretty straightforward to raise cash if you are a well-run high-growth firm expanding by around 15 per cent [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 3, 2011 Barclays Corporate Ian Gilmartin has been promoted to Barclays Corporate’s retail and wholesale team as corporate director. He was formerly head of marketing services in the tech and media sector. In his new job, he will be working with Richard Lowe, head of the retail division, and will be adding to his 16 years’ experience [...]
FTSE briefly breaks 6,000 mark in final pre-holiday trading December 23, 2010 LONDON’S last full trading day before Christmas saw the lead share index briefly break the symbolic 6,000 mark before finally closing at 5,982. Energy shares led the rally with BP up 1.4 per cent, underpinned by gains in the price of crude, which held around $90 (£58.30) a barrel and neared a two-year high. Some [...]
What the other papers say this morning December 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES PATTEN TOPS LIST TO CHAIR BBC TRUST Six people are on the shortlist to be the next chairman of the BBC Trust, according to two insiders who have seen the document. Lord Patten, former Conservative party chairman and the last governor of Hong Kong, is clear favourite. But Sir Howard Davies, director of [...]
BATTERSEA REDEVELOPMENT GETS OKAY December 22, 2010 MAYOR of London Boris Johnson gave the go-ahead yesterday for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and its surrounding area. The new scheme is part of a wider £5.5bn development that involves an extension to the Northern Line and the construction of thousands of homes, plus retail and office space. The proposal will now go [...]