WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES TWO BANKS IN DANGER AS DEADLINE APPROACHES European regulators are convinced that two of the continent’s banks will fail to produce credible plans to plug capital deficits by Friday’s deadline, exposing both to the risk of full or partial nationalisation. Officials said that it looked “almost inevitable” that a fresh injection of state [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU TO PUSH QUOTA FOR WOMEN DIRECTORS The EU’s executive is to press ahead with plans for quotas to increase the proportion of women on corporate boards, triggering a protracted fight between Brussels and national governments. Viviane Reding, justice commissioner, will announce the first step towards European-level legislation, a year after she threatened [...]
Bank stocks up as Eurozone fears ease January 19, 2012 The FTSE 100 today opened with a strong performance in the banking sector with investor confidence being buoyed by efforts to bring the Eurozone back in line after months of damaging instability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking to raise up to $600bn (£388.8bn) which would help ease worries about funding in the Eurozone. [...]
Tesco to push its bank this year June 27, 2011 Tesco, the world’s third-biggest retailer, will make its long-awaited push into banking this autumn, and will not do so by buying Lloyds branches or bidding for state-owned Northern Rock, its head of retail services Andrew Higginson told a conference yesterday. He said the firm was focused on growing its own business. “Certainly we will be [...]
Sales slow at Asda but boss stays upbeat February 21, 2012 ASDA, owned by US retailer Wal-Mart Stores, yesterday posted a slowdown in sales growth in its fiscal fourth quarter as shoppers cut back due to rising prices, muted wages growth and an uncertain economic outlook. Chief executive Andy Clarke said he was instinctively optimistic about prospects in 2012 but said it was too early to [...]
Tesco Bank admits glitch June 20, 2011 Some of Tesco Bank’s 6.5m customers have been unable to access their accounts during an update of computer systems, the bank has confirmed. The bank, which operates in stores, online and by telephone, said problems occurred when transferring savings and loans products in-house, from its previous joint operation with RBS. It apologised to customers and [...]
FTSE ends lower as retailers reveal a miserable Christmas January 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell yesterday after a profit warning from Tesco triggered sharp falls in retailers and eclipsed a lift for banks from a successful Spanish debt auction and restructuring at RBS. The FTSE 100 index closed down 8.40 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,662.42, once again missing out in a tilt at the [...]
Mary Portas to meet Tesco boss June 26, 2011 Mary Portas, the TV celebrity retail expert appointed by the government to oversee a review of Britain’s changing high streets, will this week meet with the UK chief executive of Tesco. Portas, best known for her Mary Queen of Shops TV series, will meet with Tesco UK boss Richard Brasher to examine the future of [...]
Surprise loss for Ageas on write-downs February 20, 2012 BELGIAN insurer Ageas announced an unexpected fourth quarter loss of €44.5m (£37m) yesterday as it wrote down the value of its Hong Kong operation and took a €124m hit on the value of its Greek bond holdings. Without these impairments its insurance division would have turned a full year profit of €595m, the firm said. [...]
Chief executives earn trust with honest answers March 12, 2012 WHEN Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF, recently gave an interview, he knew that trust in energy companies was at an all-time low. The interview was the perfect opportunity to start rebuilding it. So he mentioned “trust” – 61 times in fact – and little else. Unsurprisingly he was pilloried. EDF will wrongly blame [...]