New Quarto boss aiming to put boardroom coup behind firm March 13, 2013 THE new chief executive of publishing company Quarto will outline his plans for a revamped, leaner company this week as he faces the City after a shareholder coup defenestrated his predecessor. Laurence Orbach, who founded the company in 1976 and remains a large shareholder, was dramatically ousted in November at a special meeting forced by [...]
The NHS is losing global arms race to offer better healthcare for less March 9, 2013 THE Francis Inquiry into failings at Stafford Hospital has put the NHS under the spotlight once again. Just yesterday, NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson was grilled by MPs over his role in the scandal. All too often the service fails to deliver the quality, compassionate and patient-centred care the public expects. International comparisons are [...]
London less reliant on state jobs than the rest of the UK March 9, 2013 LONDON and its commuter belt rely far less on the public sector for jobs than the rest of the UK, official statistics revealed yesterday. In the third quarter of last year, public sector employees made up 19.4 per cent of the total across the UK, data from the Office for National Statistics showed, with just [...]
We’re more radical than Thatcher with business tax reform March 9, 2013 WITH many economies – including the UK – struggling to achieve strong growth, there is naturally a focus on what governments can do to assist. The Prime Minister is making a major speech today about the key elements of the coalition’s plan, but I want to focus on one part: how a competitive tax system [...]
Ecclestone wants three extra Formula One races to create a bigger season from 2014 March 8, 2013 EXCLUSIVE FORMULA One chief Bernie Ecclestone wants to push the sport’s season beyond its current 20-race limit, by adding three new events that could include an eye-catching street race through New Jersey. The new F1 season, starting next week, only has 19 races confirmed, with Ecclestone admitting that a 20th race has not been found. [...]
HSBC meets Basel capital target early March 7, 2013 BRITISH bank HSBC has hit tough new capital targets years before the official deadline, removing the drag on the lender’s growth and allowing it to supply more credit in the coming years, the firm’s full year results showed yesterday. HSBC is the first major institution to reach the Basel III requirements, clearing a huge obstacle [...]
What the Eastleigh result tells us about the future of British politics March 7, 2013 THE Eastleigh by-election gave us a clear indication of what is likely to happen in 2015. True, the politicians and pundits have made some confusing noise – inevitable since Thursday’s result provided triumph for no party, but genuine comfort for them all. The Conservatives did not fall to crisis levels, and could theoretically recover enough [...]
World’s richest added to their wealth in 2012 March 7, 2013 MEXICAN telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helu has consolidated his position as the world’s richest man, adding $4bn (£2.65bn) to his family’s fortune in the last year, according to the latest Forbes list of billionaires. Slim, whose wealth has grown through his various mobile phone, financial and industrial companies, is now $6bn richer than the second [...]
Drop in migration is bad for Britain’s economic growth March 2, 2013 WEDNESDAY’S GDP figures confirmed that the UK economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012 – in large part because of the weakness of exports. So the government’s strategy of generating growth by rebalancing the economy towards investment (which is also weak) and exports is far from on track. But the government is at least [...]
New chair for Kazakhmys as earnings drop March 2, 2013 LONDON-LISTED Kazakh miner Kazakhmys posted a more than 30 per cent drop in 2012 core profit yesterday, excluding the impact of its share in rival ENRC, as weak prices hit revenue and failed to offset rising costs. The miner, which owns 26 per cent of rival ENRC, also said it might have to write down [...]