Growth hit more by inflation than cuts October 16, 2012 FISCAL watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said yesterday that high inflation and weak exports were behind the UK economy performing far worse that it had predicted. The government’s deficit reduction plans may have affected growth, the OBR said, yet its economists calculated that other factors were considerably more likely to have dragged on the [...]
A fascinating, brutal and, in this case, very personal look at a post-Leveson media landscape October 11, 2012 THEATRE ENQUIRY Barbican | *** Being close to the subject of a play doesn’t necessarily make you any better equipped to review it. A soldier may be on first name terms with the horrors of war but that doesn’t always make him the best person to appreciate the artistic merits of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse [...]
Asia takes the shine off growth at staffing firm Robert Walters October 4, 2012 A SLOWDOWN in hiring in Asia has weighed on recruitment firm Robert Walters’ third quarter results, the company said yesterday. The white-collar recruiter posted an eight per cent rise in net fee income to £13.1m in the UK, only to be overshadowed by a five per cent fall on last year to £24.1m in Asia [...]
Nokia’s £240m headquarters up for sale as it scrambles for cash October 3, 2012 STRUGGLING smartphone maker Nokia has put its global headquarters on the market as part of a drive to sell off assets to keep the business alive. The once-mighty firm is selling the offices in Finnish second city Espoo, on the Baltic coast, and could raise up to €300m (£240m). “We are evaluating different options for [...]
Who’s switching jobs October 1, 2012 Barclays Jim Murphy has been appointed director of financial institutions trade in Barclays’s trade and working capital team. He joins from HSBC, where he was a director in its project and export finance team. Murphy has also worked at Deutsche Bank. BlackRock James Wilkinson has been appointed European chief investment officer for BlackRock’s global real [...]
WANdisco eyes new investment after landmark technology IPO September 27, 2012 BRITISH software firm WANdisco said yesterday that it would spend the cash from its summer initial public offering (IPO) on “significantly expanding” its staff as the company invests in the fast growing big data market. Sheffield-based WANdisco has pocketed $26m (£16m) from its float on Aim in June and has seen its shares rise 75 [...]
Antarctica is a mysterious, icy wonderland and a visual feast September 23, 2012 THE Antarctic tundra is a black and white world, except for the occasional colourful beak, feather, foot or fin, or the blue ice and turquoise underbelly of a whale. While it is certainly remote and desolate, it is also pure and peaceful: it makes you feel alive. From October to March, there is no night [...]
Capital & Counties gets cash to help it expand Covent Garden September 19, 2012 PROPERTY group Capital & Counties (Capco) yesterday raised £149.1m to help fund its ambitious plans for Covent Garden. The firm placed 68.4m shares at 218p per share, or a 1.1 per cent discount to Tuesday’s closing price. Capco said the funds will be used to help fund its £200m plans to snap up more properties [...]
Webb admits pension reform will hit employee pay packets September 19, 2012 THE cost of rules that will force firms to enrol their employees in pensions schemes is likely to hit wages or be passed on to consumers through price hikes, Steve Webb admitted today. Firms have told the pensions secretary that they will reduce pay and other benefits, increase prices or cut dividends to cover the [...]
Dulux boss is off with stress September 18, 2012 TON Buchner, the chief executive of Dulux maker Akzo Nobel, is taking a leave of absence for several weeks due to fatigue. Buchner, who has been in post since April, will return to work in the first half of October. Chief financial officer Keith Nichols will run the Dutch firm temporarily.