All can fail: my new manifesto for the banks January 25, 2010 REGULAR readers of this column will know that I am no fan of many of the proposals being cooked up to reform the banks. I have opposed Barack Obama’s plan to ban retail banks from engaging in proprietary trading; George Osborne’s support of Glass-Steagall, which would break up commercial and investment banks; and Alistair Darling’s [...]
Potential buyers line up for retail chain Adams January 25, 2010 THE troubled Adams childrenswear retail chain has received approaches from a number of potential buyers, according to administrators trying to save the company as a going concern. Insolvency firm MCR yesterday confirmed the assets of Adams’ parent company, JS Childrenswear, were up for sale. “We are already seeing significant interest in the business and assets [...]
Staycations hammer hotels January 25, 2010 Insolvency levels among hotels hit a high for the recession during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the latest data from business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers. Over the winter, the rate at which hospitality and leisure firms became insolvent rose 12 per cent. The increase was driven by a 68 per cent surge in hotel insolvencies [...]
Adams in strife as parent calls in the administrator January 24, 2010 Childrenswear chain Adams has gone in to administration for the second time in little more than a year, putting 2,000 jobs at risk. Insolvency firm MCR was called in on Friday to Adams’ parent company, JS Childrenswear. MCR partner Paul Clark said “all options” were being considered for the business, which has 120 stores across [...]
Labour accused over insolvencies January 24, 2010 THE TORIES yesterday accused the government of causing over half of the insolvencies since the start of the recession. The government handed out 3,500 winding-up orders in 2008-09, the Tory party said, citing figures from the Insolvency Service. That amounts to around 60 per cent of 6,000 businesses that were made insolvent. Most of the [...]
Begbies Traynor profits rise after historically busy year January 21, 2010 Insolvency firm Begbies Traynor has emerged as a big winner of the recent crash. Its profits rose 69 per cent after six months of “historically high” levels of work. In the first half of last year it made pre-tax profits of £3.6m. Turnover was up 21 per cent to £34.2m. Earnings before exceptional costs increased [...]
Q&A INSOLVENCY January 21, 2010 Q. I’m thinking of setting up a business, but what would happen if it all went wrong? Will I be declared bankrupt? A.The best way to protect yourself is to set up as a limited company right from the start, says Tim Carter, head of insolvency at law firm Stevens & Bolton. By doing this [...]
First fall in jobless total since 2007 January 20, 2010 THE number of people out of work in the UK has fallen for the first time in 18 months, official figures indicated yesterday. There were 2.46m unemployed people in November, down from 2.49m the previous month. This puts the unemployment rate at 7.8 per cent, down from 7.9 per cent, according to the Office of [...]
Surprise drop in unemployment figures January 20, 2010 THE number of people out of work in the UK has fallen for the first time in 18 months, official figures show today. There were 2.46m unemployed people in November, down from 2.49m the previous month. This puts the unemployment rate at 7.8 per cent, down from 7.9 per cent, according to the Office of [...]
Price of everything going up too fast January 19, 2010 BRITAIN has a credibility problem – and no, I’m not only talking about the government’s hypocritical and self-serving protectionist rhetoric on Cadbury. Yesterday’s inflation figures were even more damaging. The consumer price index (CPI) rate jumped to 2.9 per cent from 1.9 per cent in November; when the Vat hikes kick in, inflation is bound [...]