Recession fears force cost-cutting September 8, 2008 Businesses are desperately cutting costs and reducing the size of their workforce due to fears of an impending recession, a survey found yesterday. Eighty-four per cent of businesses taking part in the study, which was carried out for accountants MacIntyre Hudson, said they thought there was a significant deterioration in the overall economic climate for [...]
Aviva cuts final payout for Norwich Union policy holders by 10 per cent September 5, 2008 Norwich Union, part of giant British insurance group Aviva, will slash its final policy payout by 10 per cent, in a move that will affect 2.4m policyholders. Norwich said yesterday its terminal bonuses would be cut by as much as 10 per cent after its funds were hit by faltering stock markets, commercial property and [...]
Resolution will not bid for UK insurer September 5, 2008 Clive Cowdery’s Resolution is not interested in a bid for the insurer Friends Provident, a company spokesman said yesterday. Shares in Friends Provident rose yesterday on reports that it was on a “wish list” of companies in Resolution’s sights. But a Resolution spokesman said today there was no truth in the rumours. He said: “There [...]
BNP Paribas to exploit credit crunch with new distressed finance group September 5, 2008 French bank BNP Paribas is to create a distressed finance group to take advantage of the credit crunch and snap up assets at discount prices, it said yesterday. The new unit will be led by Alain Dib, formerly the co-head of European high-yield markets. The bank plans to expand its distressed trading operations by providing [...]
Rates left on hold as MPC split looms September 5, 2008 Bets were rising yesterday that the Bank of England meeting to determine the direction of interest rates was one of the most fraught on record. In the end the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to leave rates on hold at five per cent, but with members Danny Blanchflower and Charlie Bean going head to head [...]
Don’t punish energy firms, says CBI boss September 5, 2008 Imposing an “arbitrary and unfair tax on the energy industry” is the worst way to help the economy Richard Lambert, CBI director general said in a speech yesterday. Lambert said market forces must be allowed to work through the system: “There are no silver bullets to halt the decline in the housing market, or to [...]
House prices fall furthest in 25 years September 5, 2008 Yet more doom and gloom was heaped on the housing market yesterday as retail bank Halifax announced the first double-digit drop in prices since 1983. Prices dipped a further 1.8 per cent in August following a drop of 1.7 per cent in July, marking the fifth month running that house prices have dropped by at [...]
EDF in fresh talks over £12bn BE bid September 5, 2008 French power giant EDF is edging closer to a deal to buy British Energy, the nuclear generator, in the wake of fresh talks with some of the UK firm’s largest investors. The French utility, whose £12bn bid was rejected by British Energy’s shareholders in July, has been in productive talks with among others Invesco Perpetual, [...]
Informa says no to revised cut-price bid September 5, 2008 Informa last night rejected a cut-price bid from a private equity consortium, led by Providence, slamming the 450p a share offer as “significantly undervaluing” the publisher. CityAM’s exclusive revelation yesterday that the consortium had slashed its initial bid by more than 10 per cent to 450p a share caused a stir in the financial [...]
Signet fails to shine as sales slump bites September 4, 2008 The World’s biggest speciality jewellery retailer, Signet, has announced a 7.8 per cent fall in first half pre-tax profit, slightly better than analysts had feared. Signet warned that the consumer environment in both the US and the UK remained “very challenging”. Investec had forecast profits of $75.3m (£42.3m), five per cent lower than those reported. [...]