WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES OSBORNE PLANS TREASURY STAFF CUTS George Osborne is planning to cut staff numbers at the Treasury by about one-quarter and scale back his department’s role as he attempts to lead by example in the search for sweeping spending cuts across Whitehall. The chancellor will reconvene the public spending “star chamber” this week and [...]
British Gas workers vote to strike March 23, 2010 BRITISH Gas workers have voted to strike over what they have branded macho management and bullying. The strikes would affect gas service engineers, central heating boiling engineers and distribution depot workers, the union added. No strike dates have been set among the 8,000 GMB members and the company, part of Centrica, has been given a [...]
Network Rail, British Gas set to strike March 23, 2010 NETWORK Rail and British Gas joined the ranks of British Airways (BA) yesterday after staff at the two companies voted in favour of a strike action. Network Rail sat down with the Rail, Maritime & Transport (RMT) union yesterday to come to an agreement over a proposal by the rail operator to cut 1,500 maintenance [...]
RBS sells non-core asset to GE March 29, 2010 THE Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday sold its German invoice financing business to GE Capital, as it continues to offload non-core businesses. It said it would sell RBS Factoring GmbH, which provides loans secured against company invoices, to the American conglomerate but did not disclose the price or terms of the deal. Analysts said the [...]
Shop Direct will slash 1,500 jobs amid fresh wave of cuts January 28, 2010 HOME shopping group Shop Direct is to cut 1,500 jobs, according to the GMB union. The group, which runs Littlewoods, Kays and Woolworths.co.uk, is to slash 900 positions in Sunderland. Other jobs will go in Burnley and Newtown, Wales, as the company seeks to cut costs. The union is now in a 90-day consultation with [...]
BA and unions agree a deal over pensions March 16, 2010 BRITISH Airways and trade unions came to an agreement yesterday on plans to reduce the airline’s £3.7bn pension deficit. The proposals will see staff given the chance to either receive lower benefits and keep their current levels of contribution or opt out to pay 4.5 per cent extra to maintain their current pensions benefit. The [...]
Donations to Tories dwarf Labour February 24, 2010 THE Tories will fight the next election with a huge war chest of cash, after raking in twice as much as Labour in donations. David Cameron’s party reported donations totalling £10.5m in the last three months of 2009, dwarfing the £4.9m raised by Labour. Sir Nigel Doughty, founder of private equity house Doughty Hanson & [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SIEMENs CHAIRMAN TO MEET INVESTORS Gerhard Cromme, chairman of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, and the chief financial officers of both conglomerates will meet investors on Friday in an unusual joint move ahead of the first shareholder votes on executive pay in Germany. The meeting in Munich is considered extraordinary by investors as it highlights [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BERLIN PUSHES WEBER FOR TOP JOB AT THE ECB Berlin has stepped up its campaign for Axel Weber, Bundesbank chief, to be elected president of the European Central Bank amid intense negotiations over the appointment of the number two position at the Frankfurt-based institution. German officials told the Financial Times that eurozone nations [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 18, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BUYOUTS AT 25-YEAR LOW DUE TO LACK OF CREDIT The number of private equity deals in the UK hit a 25-year low last year, as the credit crisis cut off the supply of cheap debt and dissuaded business owners from selling out. There were 117 private equity deals in 2009, fewer than half [...]