New chair Wolfhart Hauser aims to get FirstGroup back on track March 11, 2015 FirstGroup has announced new chairman Wolfhart Hauser will take over from John McFarlane in July, becoming the firm’s third chairman in less than 18 months. Hauser has been the chief executive of Intertek, the London-listed safety and quality service provider, since 2005. He is also is a non-executive director of Associated British Foods and of [...]
Hyatt Hotels eyeing up purchase of luxury Grosvenor House Hotel March 11, 2015 Hyatt Hotels is considering purchasing the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, after the landmark building was put up for sale earlier this month. The luxury five-star hotel on Park Lane in Mayfair was previously owned by troubled Indian conglomerate Sahara Grosvenor House Hospitality. However, its lenders called in administrators after it defaulted on a loan, [...]
UK house prices accelerate as drop in London moderates March 11, 2015 The fall in London house prices is moderating, an influential study of property surveyors showed today. The proportion of surveyors reporting falling prices in the capital outweighed those reporting a rise by a margin of 28 per cent in February, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said. By contrast, the net balance seeing prices fall [...]
Former BBC and Yahoo exec Fabiola Arredondo is joining Burberry March 11, 2015 UK fashion house Burberry yesterday appointed former BBC and Yahoo executive Fabiola Arredondo to its board. It hopes the Spanish-American will bring her digital consumer savvy to the non-executive director role and the audit, remuneration and nomination committees. Once named the most influential woman in European business, Arredondo comes to Burberry after repeatedly smashing [...]
Rich-lister Carlos Slim set to bid adios to Philip Morris March 11, 2015 Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim is retiring from tobacco company Philip Morris International’s (PMI) board of directors, the company announced yesterday. He will step down in May. Ranked by Forbes as the world’s second richest person, Slim has been on PMI’s board since 2008, when the company spun-off from its parent, Altria Group. Before 2008, [...]
Hawkish Martin Weale could be set to change interest rate hike vote March 11, 2015 UK rate-setter Martin Weale has hinted he could revert back to voting for a hike in interest rates, a decision he had only recently reversed. “Despite the international concern about very low inflation, I see the decision of whether or not to tighten policy as finely balanced,” the Bank of England official told an audience [...]
Glencore in debt for equity swap with Russneft March 11, 2015 Mining firm Glencore is finalising a purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Russian oil refinery firm Russneft. The companies are preparing a deal to convert $900m (£604m) of debt into equity, which will see Glencore take on a 49 per cent holding in the producing side of the Russian firm. Glencore, which is [...]
Plain cigarette packaging: MPs vote in favour of law that will see standardised packaging from 2016 March 11, 2015 MPs have voted in favour of plain packaging on cigarettes which will see just a brand name and health warnings appear on packets from next year. Some 367 MPs voted in favour of the move while 113 voted against after a long-running battle between business and health campaigners since the government first made a move [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale: Interest rate hike remains “finely balanced” March 11, 2015 The eventual interest rate hike remains "a finely balanced tug of war" and "pulls in both directions have intensified", a member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee said in a speech made today. Weale said the bank must weigh the fact rising wages without a corresponding pick-up in productivity will strengthen the case for [...]
The UK economy could gain £38bn by improving digital technology by 2020 March 11, 2015 Better use of digital technology would boost the UK economy by £38bn and help increase global output by almost a trillion pounds. Improving digital technology in the world’s top 10 economies would benefit the global economy by more than £900bn in increased productivity by 2020, according to a new analysis of the global digital economy. The [...]