Manufacturing output in surprise drop June 11, 2010 Manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in April, official data has shown – suggesting Britain’s recovering economy got off to a slow start in the second quarter. Figures from the Office for National Statistics also showed producer input costs eased less than expected in May, although factory gate inflation slowed slightly more than expected. The ONS said [...]
European banks face second quarter chill due to debt woes June 10, 2010 EUROPEAN banks including UBS, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse face a sharp slowdown in the second quarter on the back of regional sovereign debt fears, analysts believe. UBS chief financial officer John Cryan yesterday told an informal lunch meeting that the Swiss institution would post weaker results for the three months to the end of [...]
FSA’S SANTS MAKES LAST STAND FOR REGULATOR June 10, 2010 THERE’S nothing like going out fighting, is there? Yesterday marked the publication of FSA chief executive Hector Sants’ (right) last annual report at the helm of the regulator, which is under siege from politicians currently mulling whether or not it will have a future. Sants has never exactly made a secret of his feelings towards [...]
An intriguing plan to reform banking June 7, 2010 IF you leave your suit at a dry-cleaner, you retain ownership of the garment, even though possession has passed (temporarily) to the shop. But if you deposit £1,000 in a bank account, who owns the money? It’s still yours, held in trust by the bank, just as with the dry cleaner, right? Wrong. Ever since [...]
IATA: Airlines will return to profitability June 7, 2010 AIRLINES will return to profitability this year, according to the commercial aviation industry’s leading body. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects airlines to post a collective $2.5bn (£1.7bn) profit for 2010, marking a vast improvement on its previous forecast published in March, which forecast the industry would report $2.8bn in losses. “The global economy [...]
Sberbank to beat market expectations June 7, 2010 SBERBANK, Russia’s top lender, said it may revise its conservative full-year forecast at the end of this quarter after beating market estimates with an all-time high profit in the first quarter. The state-run bank so far has estimated it will have a net profit of 100 billion roubles for the whole of 2010. “There will [...]
Don’t let City living dull your good looks June 7, 2010 A FRIEND visited from the country this weekend and claimed to have blown dirty snot into a tissue after spending just two days in London. Like most long-term Londoners, I’m in denial about black phlegm, but she had a point. Living between the office, the Tube, the fumes of the street and the boozy, salt-and-sugar [...]
Denton Wilde Sapte joins the rush for transatlantic law firm mergers June 6, 2010 MERGERS and acquisitions are rattling along at quite a pace among transatlantic law firms – unlike at the corporate clients they service, many of which are still finding the M&A game a little hard going at the moment, not least of course Prudential. The latest legal mega-deal repays a closer look. The City’s Denton Wilde [...]
Baker & McKenzie elects Brazilian as its chairman June 3, 2010 US LAW firm Baker & McKenzie has appointed Brazilian Eduardo Leite as chairman, marking the first time a large legal practice has turned to the emerging markets for a leader. Leite, who currently practises in the firm’s Sao Paolo office and serves as executive vice president of the China-Brazil Business Council, will replace outgoing chairman [...]
Network Rail profit slides as debt rises June 3, 2010 NETWORK Rail’s pre-tax profits dropped by more than 75 per cent last year, amid a reduced budget and rising debt pile. The owner of the British rail system lost eight per cent of revenue, down to £5.67bn, in the last financial year due to a reduced government grant and a fall in track charges paid [...]