Yorkshire and Chelsea warn of job cuts December 2, 2009 THE merger of the Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies will lead to job losses and a £200m writedown on Chelsea’s bad debts, the two firms said yesterday. More than 3,200 staff work for the two societies which will undergo efficiency savings of £35m. The merger was instigated by Yorkshire after Chelsea was hit hard in [...]
SAVINGS GIANTS IN MEGA-MERGER December 1, 2009 YORKSHIRE Building Society is in advanced merger talks with beleaguered competitor Chelsea, in a deal experts said could fuel further consolidation in the sector. A tie-up, yet to be approved by the FSA, would create a major force in the building society arena. With £38bn assets and 2.7m members it would be second only to [...]
HOUSE PRICES RISE AGAIN December 1, 2009 BRITISH house prices rose 0.5 per cent in November, according to the latest monthly Nationwide survey. This matched October’s increase and took the average house price to £162,764. Although a lack of stock and falling prices have underpinned price rises, analysts pointed out that the rise in UK house prices appeared to be moderating and [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY November 29, 2009 Monday 30 NovemberUK: November GfK Consumer Confidence (12am)November Hometrack Housing Survey (12am)CBI Service Sector Survey (12am)October Net Consumer Credit (9.30am)October Net Lending Secured on Dwellings (9.30am)October Mortgage Approvals (9.30am)October Final M4 Money Supply (9.30am)Eurozone: November CPI Estimate (10am)US:November Chicago PMI (2.45pm) Tuesday 1 DecemberUK:November PMI Manufacturing (9.30am)November Nationwide House Prices (7am)Eurozone:November PMI Manufacturing (9am)October Unemployment [...]
End is nigh for free banking as OFT ruling looms November 22, 2009 THE UK faces an end to free banking this week, as the Supreme Court makes its final ruling over whether customers have been unfairly charged on their overdrafts. The government has piled the pressure on banks to settle the matter quickly rather than appeal, and millions of customers could be eligible for a payout after [...]
PAY OF ALLIED IRISH BOSS IS CAPPED November 18, 2009 COLM Doherty, the new head of Allied Irish Bank, has accepted a 20 per cent pay cut to take the reins at the bailed-out bank. Doherty, who led Allied Irish’s investment banking arm on a salary of €633,000 (£565,000), has had his pay packet capped at €500,000 after nationwide outrage at remuneration at state-backed banks. [...]
QUEEN SENT FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE November 17, 2009 FIRST there was Bobby George; the Bobby Dazzler, the King of the Bling, the first true bastion of darting glitz and glamour. Then, there was Andy Fordham. Thirty-one stone at his peak, hair down to his backside and regular consumer of 25 bottles of Holsten Pils before going on stage. Equally adored by his public. [...]
Clubcard lifts Tesco’s share of customers November 10, 2009 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco is growing market share for the first time in two years as it fights back at its rivals, industry figures show. Tesco’s double Clubcard points promotion – which cost the group around £5m a week – helped its share of the grocery market climb to 30.7 per cent in the 12 weeks [...]
Christmas will be make or break for our retailers November 8, 2009 WHEN the Christmas lights on Regent Street were switched on last week, it marked the beginning of the most important period of the year for high-street retailers. Many can earn 60 per cent of their annual profits in the peak weeks of Christmas. After a dismal end to 2008 when it seemed like retail chains [...]
Strikes at Royal Mail called off November 5, 2009 THE latest round of postal strikes, which have plagued Britain for the past month, were last night called off at the eleventh hour. However, the dispute between unions and management over modernisation of the Royal Mail, the main motivation for the industrial action, remains unresolved. The postal service is cutting jobs and pay as it [...]