What the other papers say this morning – 5 August 2013 August 4, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Lloyds boss targets profit for dividend Antonio Horta-Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, has said he aims to start paying out up to 70 per cent of the bank’s earnings in dividends within three years as he seeks to attract investors ahead of the sale of the government’s stake. Lloyds has not [...]
New RBS chief executive to be paid significantly less than predecessor August 1, 2013 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is on the verge of agreeing a pay deal for its new chief executive that will be significantly lower than that of the ousted Stephen Hester, Sky News have reported. UK Financial Investments, the agency managing the taxpayer stake in RBS, is reportedly on the verge of agreeing a base [...]
British American Tobacco bets on e-cigarettes as sales grow July 31, 2013 BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) said yesterday it would move rapidly to expand its presence in the electronic cigarette market around the world after launching its first product in the UK earlier this week. The world’s second-largest cigarette maker, whose premium brands include Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, launched online sales of Vype on [...]
City Moves for 1 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs July 31, 2013 Premier Farnell The electronics company has announced the appointment of Andrea Dunstan as chief people officer. Dunstan has over 20 years’ experience in human resources (HR). She was previously group HR director at Wincanton. Prior to that, she worked at AstraZeneca. Royal Bank of Canada The bank’s capital markets division has recruited Sian Hurrell as head [...]
New York Report: Wall St edges higher after Fed statement July 31, 2013 THE S&P 500 finished a volatile session nearly flat yesterday after the Federal Reserve gave no hint that a reduction in the pace of its bond-buying program is imminent. After paring most of the day’s gains just before the close, the S&P 500 ended July up 5 per cent – its best monthly percentage increase [...]
Poorly-designed immigration policies are damaging the London economy July 31, 2013 THE PROPOSAL from part of the coalition to make some overseas visitors pay a £3,000 bond to come to Britain is perhaps the most ill-considered development in immigration policy yet. The government says that Britain is open for business, but with visitor bonds, healthcare levies, and adverts urging self-deportation – to mention but three examples [...]
Bank to fight watchdog’s Qatari claims July 30, 2013 BARCLAYS yesterday vowed to fight the Financial Conduct Authority’s findings after the City watchdog investigated claims of wrongdoing in the bank’s 2008 fundraising round. The bank’s announcement comes as the Treasury is considering giving another £2m to the Serious Fraud Office to further investigate the case. The lender raised £5.3bn from the Middle Eastern [...]
Britain is falling badly behind in the entrepreneurship stakes July 29, 2013 ONE OF Britain’s great advantages is that we are meant to be a much more entrepreneurial nation than most of our major competitors. We do, indeed, create more companies than some other wealthy countries but as a study by RSM reveals, we are hardly covering ourselves in glory. In fact, we are ranked a pathetic [...]
Unilever warns of slowing growth in emerging markets and little sign of recovery in North America and Europe July 25, 2013 Consumer goods company Unilever has warned that emerging markets are facing slowdown, as it posts results for the first half of 2013 (release). Growth is slowing in emerging markets, as macro-economic headwinds influence consumer behaviour. Within this overall trend we see a mixed picture across the major countries reflecting different local circumstances. Developed markets remain [...]
Credit Suisse up in pre-market trading as results beat expectations July 25, 2013 Switzerland's Credit Suisse is doing well in pre-market trading – up 0.7 per cent right now – after some better than expected results out this morning (release). The bank posted net income for the second quarter of CHF 1.05bn (£0.73bn), beating forecasts of CHF 1.03bn (£0.72bn). Brady W. Dougan, chief executive officer, said: With an [...]