EU banks face new debt woe July 27, 2009 EUROPE’S banks are set for renewed pain due to rising levels of consumer debt defaults linked to credit card loans, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday. The IMF estimates that seven per cent of Europe’s £1.5bn in consumer debt will turn sour, with the UK set to be particularly badly affected by its reliance [...]
Julius Baer in profits slump as split nears July 27, 2009 SWISS private bank Julius Baer saw profit before tax slump by 37 per cent in the first half, as cost cuts failed to outpace dwindling revenues. Net profit at the bank fell to Sfr324m (£184m) from Sfr510m in the same period last year, as it suffered a 24 per cent decline in operating income to [...]
MPs call for transparency in public sector cost cuts July 27, 2009 THE Treasury sub-committee has called on the government to trim public spending and be more transparent about the cuts it makes. The sub-committee’s report on the government’s Efficiency Programme welcomed efforts to cut costs in government departments, but said the necessary structures to achieve savings might not be in place. Data collection systems to measure [...]
Hotel firm failures rocket July 27, 2009 The number of UK hotel businesses becoming insolvent jumped by 120 per cent since June 2008, but the rate of failure is beginning to slow, according to a report out today by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. London hotel chains have so far defied the gloomiest of predictions by dropping room rates to attract volume demand. Hotel insolvencies peaked [...]
Thornton’s new finance director July 27, 2009 Chocolate retailer Thorntons said yesterday that former Somerfield finance director Mark Robson is set to join Thorntons as successor to finance director John Wall. Wall informed the firm of his intention to step down from the board earlier this year. Robson, 46, began his career with BDO Stoy Hayward where he qualified as a Chartered [...]
Stalled house projects get cash July 27, 2009 Hundreds of housing developments in England that have stalled during the recession are set to share in a £925m attempt to kick-start the industry, the government said yesterday. About 270 projects could benefit from the cash, housing minister John Healey said, with a third of the funds to go to housing associations to build affordable [...]
GS4 launches services for firms July 27, 2009 International security services group GS4 yesterday launched its Information Security and Assurance business, which delivers a range of integrated services for the handling and destruction of classified and commercially sensitive media and equipment. The group, which provides secure destruction services for government agencies will now be providing its services to commercial firms.
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 27, 2009 Henderson New StarAsset manager Henderson Global Investors has appointed Mark Carpenter, a director in its property division, as head of its Henderson New Star property funds, replacing Roger Dossett. Dossett, who was head of New Star’s property team before Henderson took over New Star in April, will leave Henderson later this year to pursue his [...]
SPOTIFY JOINS THE BIG APPLE July 27, 2009 Spotify, the music streaming website, yesterday said it will launch an application for Apple’s iPhone. Premium subscribers to Spotify will be able to search for new music and store over 3,000 songs, even when the device doesn’t have a signal, putting it in direct competition with Apple’s own music store, iTunes.
America joins hedgie fight as UK looks for Swedish support July 27, 2009 THE US yesterday waded into the row over the European Commission’s (EC) plans to strictly regulate hedge funds that do business in the region Officials from the US authorities are quietly lobbying finance ministers in Europe in a bid to overturn a draft law that would impose a burdensome disclosure regime and leverage limits on [...]