WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 18, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES THOMAS COOK SALE PLANA large part of Arcandor’s 53 per cent stake in Thomas Cook could be sold to institutional investors as early as next month as creditor banks of the insolvent German retailer try to claw back their loans. Two people close to the banking consortium said a share placing “theoretically still [...]
TRAIN FARES SET TO DROP NEXT YEAR August 18, 2009 &9632; Rail fares to be cut for first time since privatisation&9632; Cuts come as train firms struggle with franchise payments&9632; Rail companies could hike non-regulated fares to plug gap RAIL fares are set to come down for the first time since privatisation, but there were fears yesterday that commuters might be hit by rising railway [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 17, 2009 Cheyne Capital ManagementThe alternative asset manager has appointed Paul Ruddleston and Paul Keohane, pictured, as partners. The pair joins from Morgan Stanley, where they were managing directors and spent a combined 26 years. They will be responsible for managing the Cheyne Equity Macro Fund, along with former colleague and head portfolio manager Jorge Giampaoli, who [...]
Economy remains in focus as inflation signs look benign August 16, 2009 LAST week the markets were updated on the views of central bankers from both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, the Bank of England published their quarterly Inflation Report and from the US we heard comments by the Federal Open Market Committee, accompanying their regular rate-setting meeting. Both presented a benign outlook for inflation. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 16, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphBAE WARNS OF CREDIT THREAT TO SUPPLIERSBAE systems has warned that its supply chain is at risk from suppliers failing to obtain adequate credit. The defence giant is supplied by tens of thousands of smaller manufacturers that are far more vulnerable to the funding squeeze than the company itself. BAE has a [...]
London retail sales continue growth despite July washout August 16, 2009 LONDON’S retail sales growth continued to outpace the rest of the UK last month but with the narrowest lead in nine months, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will show today. The capital’s like-for-like sales increased by 2.2 per cent in July compared with the same month a year earlier when same-store sales were [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 13, 2009 Reed ElsevierThe publishing group has appointed Ben van der Veer, the former chairman of accountancy firm KPMG in the Netherlands, as a non-executive director, effective from 3 September. Van der Veer was chairman at KPMG Netherlands between 1999 and 2008 and also sat on the firm’s international board and management committee. He is a member [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 12, 2009 RSAThe insurer has appointed Christian Torkington as its new UK chief operating officer. Torkington joins from Scottish Widows, where he was managing director of operations. Prior to that, he worked at Barclays in a variety of senior roles, and was also the chief executive of an economic development agency. RSIM Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management has [...]
CITY MOVES Who’s switching jobs August 10, 2009 TravelodgeThe hotel chain has appointed Charlie Herbert as its new e-commerce director. Herbert has been working at the group on a consultancy basis since March. In his new role, he will sit on the executive team and report directly to UK managing director Guy Parsons. He has previously worked with a number of top consumer [...]
Funds buy up UK property August 10, 2009 PROPERTY fund managers are storming back into the UK market, believing the correction has now ended and bricks and mortar assets are looking cheap. Managers believe the collapse of the property bubble has created a wealth of investment opportunities, with Henderson’s Herald fund and F&C’s Commercial Property Trust both diving back in to the UK [...]