Defined benefit plan to close for Tesco’s 350,000 scheme members January 8, 2015 TESCO will close its deficit-laden pension scheme next year, bringing the curtain down on one of the few remaining final salary schemes in the FTSE 100. The supermarket giant’s scheme, which has 350,000 members, will shut to current members in February 2016. Tesco will transfer members into a new plan. The group will launch a [...]
Shareholder spring reduces top pay awards July 7, 2014 The legacy of the shareholder spring has reduced top executive pay in the FTSE 100 by seven per cent, according to new research. The pay packages of top bosses fell by five per cent in 2012 and seven per cent last year, the report from remuneration experts Manifest and MM&K suggested. The research also listed [...]
FTSE up on hope that Bank will keep rates low – London Report February 17, 2015 Britain’s top share index yesterday climbed to a five-month high on expectations that the Bank of England would keep interest rates down, after data showed inflation sank to a record low in January. The annual inflation rate fell to 0.3 per cent last month from 0.5 per cent in December, official data showed, largely reflecting [...]
London Report: Housebuilders drag on FTSE 100 after near-record highs June 23, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index fell yesterday for the first time in a week as declines in housebuilding shares weighed on the market, which had been approaching record highs. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had risen for the last four sessions, ended down by 0.4 per cent, or 24.64 points, at 6,800.56 points – some [...]
Fidelity revolts over executive short-termism July 3, 2014 FUND manager Fidelity yesterday launched an attack on executive pay after revealing it voted against aspects of pay deals at more than half of UK annual meetings this year. The influential group, which owns stakes in hundreds of UK-listed companies, said it had voted against remuneration proposals for 52 per cent of FTSE 350 firms [...]
Property firms Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey line up to join FTSE 100 as IMI and Petrofac drop out December 1, 2014 Two companies are on track to be promoted to the FTSE 100 this week as the UK’s main stock indices undergo a reshuffle. Residential property development companies Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey are both in line to be moved on to the FTSE 100 index from their current position on the FTSE 250. The FTSE 100 [...]
JP Morgan gets Poundland gig May 6, 2014 JP MORGAN pulled further ahead in the corporate broking league tables yesterday as Poundland appointed the investment bank. It means JP Morgan now has 220 broking clients, including 34 of the FTSE 100 and 92 of the FTSE 250. Poundland is a FTSE 250-sized firm, but with its recent listing has not yet been added to the index [...]
UK firms getting stronger despite commodity fall May 11, 2014 THE TURMOIL in the commodities markets knocked £47.4bn off yearly revenues reported by the biggest London-listed companies in the last quarter, disguising a steady recovery in other firms’ trading, research out today claims. Turnover at FTSE 350 firms that reported annual figures by the end of March fell 1.5 per cent to £1.51 trillion, The [...]
Mark Carney’s first year: Bank governor enjoys roaring recovery – but he can’t take credit July 1, 2014 Mark Carney has had a spectacularly good first 365 days at Threadneedle Street. Since he's arrived at the Bank of England the UK economy has busted analyst growth expectations. Unemployment has fallen faster than almost anyone had predicted, and inflation is now back below the Bank's two per cent target. Judged by cold hard results, [...]
FTSE 100 slips again as oil prices hit energy groups – London Report December 10, 2014 Britain's main equity index fell yesterday for a third day in a row as a further drop in the price of oil hit energy stocks. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.5 per cent, or 29.43 points, at 6,500.04 points – its lowest closing level since early November. Following the decline [...]