Hays bullish after increase in UK hires January 19, 2014 Alistair Cox sees plenty of growth to come for British jobs, but skills shortages are a worry AFTER a torrid few years for the jobs market, the boss of the country’s biggest white-collar recruiter is feeling optimistic enough about the growing signs of recovery that he’s even planning to add some staff to his own [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 17 January 2014 January 16, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES EE float put on hold by owners The flotation of EE, Britain’s largest mobile operator, has been put on hold by Orange and Deutsche Telekom, after the joint owners concluded they would secure a higher valuation for the business when its 4G telephone services take off. Orange and Deutsche Telekom – which has [...]
Experian picks chief exec as its new chairman January 16, 2014 EXPERIAN’S chief executive is stepping into the chairman’s role from July, the firm announced yesterday, eight months after hiring headhunters to search for a new chair. The credit checking and data services group said Don Robert will leave the chief exec post to replace Sir John Peace, who said last May that he planned to [...]
Say goodbye to the Bank of England’s first governor as he disappears from the £50 note this April January 16, 2014 Sir John Houblon will be disappearing from the £50 note this April. From then on, you'll only be able to get £50 notes featuring Matthew Boulton and James Watt. The pair were responsible for accelerating the progress of manufacturing steam engines during the 18th and 19th centuries. Their famous Boulton & Watt engines were responsible [...]
Banking competition is already fierce – but technology will intensify it further January 15, 2014 FOR ALL the talk of competition in banking, ask yourself: have you ever felt that there is not a product for you on the market? Or that your choices are constrained? I have a current account with the same bank my family has used for years. But when it comes to my savings, I shamelessly [...]
Michael Page posts rising profits in wake of hiring boom January 14, 2014 Recruiter Michael Page has posted a rise in gross profit of 0.3 per cent for the fourth quarter. The improved results reflect strengthening performances from over half of 34 countries the firm operates in. Gross profit was £125m in the fourth quarter, which was down 1.2 per cent year-on-year in reported rates. Steve Ingham, Chief [...]
Greene King brews up record-breaking Christmas January 13, 2014 Pub retailer Greene King has posted a rise in like-for-like sales of five per cent for the last six weeks. The company achieved a six per cent rise in like-for-like sales over the years two most important trading weeks. Christmas Day proved to be the most successful in the company's history, with 62,000 meals sold, [...]
Best of the Brokers for 9 January 2014 January 8, 2014 AVEVA Strong engineering results have earned Aveva an upgrade from UBS, which has hiked its rating from “neutral” to “buy” with a target of 2,550p, up from 2,300p. The broker sees relatively high growth rates despite underperformance in the last quarter of 2013 that has kept the share price down. CINEWORLD Numis has reiterated its [...]
The dark side of Britain’s recovery January 8, 2014 Growth is back, the housing market is booming and shoppers are ever more confident – but that shopping spurt is not all good. It might seem a relief after years of recession and stagnation, but there are reasons to be worried about the foundations of the new boom. Official data out today shows the recovery [...]
Bitcoin bounces back above $1,000 after this new endorsement January 6, 2014 Bitcoin has bounced back across the $1,000 (£610) mark in the wake of the announcement that social game company Zynga would accept the virtual currency for some of its services. Players of games such as FarmVille 2 and CastleVille will now be able to use Bitpay, a Bitcoin payment provider to make in-game purchases. Zynga [...]