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BA crew offer to take pay cut to save jobs

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:22:25 GMT

They would also forego a salary rise until February 2011 to save the company millions of pounds.

Heatwave sparks drop in high street sales

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:50:09 GMT

Shoppers stayed away from the high street as they enjoyed the recent heatwave, leading to deepening gloom among retailers who saw a 5.6 per cent drop in sales, according to figures released today.

Recruiter Hays reports 37% collapse in net fees income

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Hays has become the second major UK recruitment agency in a week to axe staff and post a slump in fees, as the industry braces itself for the further pain of a "dreadful" summer.

Insolvency trade is booming, says Begbies

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The soaring number of corporate insolvencies has driven up full-year profits at the restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor, it revealed yesterday, saying that it had not yet seen "any green shoots" of economic recovery.

Drilling for North Sea oil and gas slumps by 57%

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Oil and gas drilling operations in the North Sea have more than halved in the past year, while activity in the equivalent sector in Norwegian waters has shot up, figures showed yesterday.

First-time buyers tap parents for deposit

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Despite house prices declining by around a fifth from peak levels in the autumn of 2007, first-time buyers are turning to the "Bank of Mum and Dad" in increasing numbers to get on to the housing ladder.

Citigroup shakes up top management

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Citigroup shook up its management yesterday, replacing its finance chief and installing a new head of banking. It comes as the embattled bank prepares to hand the US government a 34 per cent stake in the company.

Leading housebuilders see demand improving

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Two of the UK's biggest housebuilders said that conditions in the troubled housing market were stabilising, but Barratt Developments and Redrow warned that a chronic lack of mortgage availability could derail a recovery.

Business Diary: Bankers who know the meaning of charity

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Anticipation is hotting up for the annual Standard Chartered Great City Race, with the starting gun to fired less than a week from now. It will be especially hot for two poor chaps, who have agreed to dress as tubes of toothpaste, to slog around the 5km course promoting StanChart's good name. The race supports the Seeing is Believing charity, which hopes to eradicate avoidable blindness, and the organisers hope to beat last year's total of £75,000. The two joggers will be in good company with more than 6,500 runners from companies across all financial sectors lining up to beat their fiercest rivals.

City is caught by surprise as Bank stops 'printing money'

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee surprised and disappointed markets yesterday as it signalled a possible end to its programme of "quantitative easing", known colloquially as "printing money".

FSA to name and shame worst financial companies

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Britain's City watchdog is planning to unveil league tables of the country's worst banks and insurers.

Bank rate-setters adopt wait-and-see mode

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:00:47 GMT

Bank of England rate-setters were in "wait and see" mode today as they held off from delivering more aid to the recession-blighted UK economy.

Bank of England decides against pumping in extra cash

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:17:57 GMT

Rate-setters held off from further help to ease the recession today after a surprise refusal to pump extra cash into the economy.

Job axe falls in fresh steel industry blow

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:34:10 GMT

The steel industry was dealt a fresh blow today with news that Corus plans to axe hundreds more jobs at one of its biggest plants.

Further job cuts planned for Corus steel plant

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:34:10 GMT

The steel industry was dealt a fresh blow today with news that Corus is to axe hundreds more jobs at one of its biggest plants.

Critics savage Darling's shake-up

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Chancellor's reforms were attacked by opposition MPs as well as his own party's backbenchers yesterday, who accused Alistair Darling of missing his opportunity to clamp down on those who had led Britain into financial meltdown, while allowing a regulation system that had failed the country to persist.

M&S bruised by vote on succession plan

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Marks & Spencer suffered one of the biggest shareholder rebellions in its 125-year history yesterday after hordes of investors voted against its succession plan and the re-election of the executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose at the annual meeting in London.

Business Diary: Ex-Anglo executive has nookie on the brain...

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Graham Boustred, a former deputy chairman of the mining group Anglo American, startled readers of the South African newspaper Business Day with his loathing for the company's chief executive Cynthia Carroll, saying: "This woman's hopeless. There's no morale." Unfortunately, that was just for hors d'oeuvres. "Do you know why it's difficult to find a female CEO?" the enlightened 84-year-old continued. "It's because most women are sexually frustrated. Men are not, because they can fall back on call girls, go to erectile dysfunction clinics. If you have a CEO who's sexually frustrated she can't act properly."

Companies listed in London 'used to defraud investors'

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Two companies listed on the AIM market in London were at the centre of an international fraud that cost investors $140m (£87m), it is alleged.

IBM ready to close its UK final salary pension plan

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

IBM has become the latest company planning to turn its back on final salary pension payouts. The computer systems group is consultung staff about proposals to close its UK scheme, which would affect 5,000 employees.

Demand for oil in the OECD will not recover until 2013, says Opec

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The developed world's demand for oil will not recover from the effects of global recession for another four years, the cartel of producing nations predicted yesterday.

Competition Commission fights on against PPI

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Competition Commission will continue its campaign against payment protection insurance (PPI) schemes, which consumer lobby groups have long condemned for their loopholes and poor value for money.

Primark overseas director steps down

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Primark's director of international trading has quit after less than a year, at a time when the discount fashion retailer is cranking up its European expansion programme.

Chancellor moves to rein in 'risky' banks

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Government yesterday backed away from a wholesale shake-up of banking supervision despite the ongoing effects of the credit crunch, which have resulted in the worst downturn for a generation. Unveiling his long-awaited White Paper on reform of Britain's banks, Alistair Darling rejected calls to limit their size and refused to put a cap on bankers' pay, despite concerns about the return of a destructive "bonus culture".

EU promises crackdown on pharma industry

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

EU anti-competition authorities yesterday said they would act against pharmaceuticals groups that were suspected of delaying the launch of new medicines, adding that a lack of competition was harming patients and taxpayers.