Begbies: UK faces £55bn black hole April 26, 2010 A RISE in interest rates in the coming year could push thousands of small businesses into bankruptcy, insolvency expert Begbies Traynor warned this morning. In its first quarter “Red Flag” update, which monitors UK companies for signs of stress, Begbies said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) had £55bn of liabilities on their books. The debts [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 26, 2010 PricewaterhouseCoopers Bridget Jackson has joined the accountancy firm as director of corporate sustainability, leading the firm’s internal environmental, community and corporate sustainability strategy. Jackson has over twenty years of experience in international business and strategy consulting. She joins from management consulting firm Accenture. She will report directly to managing partner Richard Collier-Keywood. Resolution The investment [...]
We’re lying to ourselves on spending April 22, 2010 THERE was no clear winner from yesterday’s debates, in contrast to last week’s, when Nick Clegg triumphed. This time was very different: Gordon Brown did his best but failed to convince viewers, according to instant polls; Cameron fought back but didn’t manage to put in a game-changing, breakthrough performance. Clegg wasn’t as convincing as the [...]
Liquidation numbers rise April 8, 2010 A growing number of UK companies are choosing to cease trading before being forced into insolvency, leading to the highest number of liquidations since 1992. In 2008-2009, 23,500 companies went into liquidation. The number is expected to rise by nine per cent to over 25,600 for 2009-2010. This is the highest figure since 1991-1992 when [...]
Barclays accuses Lehman of keeping back $3bn assets after 2008 collapse April 6, 2010 THE legal wrangle between Barclays and Lehman Brothers Holdings is set to intensify this week when the British bank tells a judge Lehman is withholding $3bn (£2bn) in assets. Barclays, which bought Lehman’s core operations after it imploded in September 2008, says it is entitled to around $750m left in clearance boxes and $750m in [...]
MODELLING LEAVES METRO BOSS RED-FACED April 5, 2010 MOST of the management over at shiny-new high street lender Metro Bank might be patting themselves on the back over their latest marketing ruse, a giant mascot for the bank, but some of the poor staffers have been left red-faced. The new mascot – an enormous foamy “M” in blue and red, the bank’s colours [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 5, 2010 Threadneedle The asset management firm has hired George Gosden to join its Asian equities desk. Gosden spent the past eight years as a director at Insight Investment, where he was part of the international team. Prior to that, he was a director of Asian equities at Clerical Medical Investment Management. In his new role, he [...]
Banks to be forced to put investors first March 30, 2010 UNDER new plans put forward by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) investment bankers will have to inform investors about what exactly it is they are doing with their money. The proposals come as a direct result of the financial crisis and in particular the collapse of Lehmans. If passed banks will have to increase their [...]
Light at the end of the tunnel, but buyers should stay cautious March 25, 2010 IT’S the perennial dinner party question: what will happen to house prices in the coming year? With a hung parliament on the cards come May and economists divided over when the Bank of England will decide to raise interest rates, those who are looking to move property remain understandably nervous. Mortgages are still hard to [...]
Insolvencies dip as firms see out storm March 22, 2010 THE number of companies declared insolvent fell last month, research showed today. A total of 1,834 firms went insolvent during the month – 15 per cent down on February last year, according to business information services group Experian. The group said the fall brought the overall rate of insolvencies down from 0.11 per cent to [...]