News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

WANTED: STEADY HAND AT THE TILL

November 19, 2009

THE departure of Wm Morrison boss Marc Bolland won’t blow the supermarket off course, retail experts said yesterday as the Bradford-based company posted another set of strong sales figures and customer growth. With Bolland sidelined ahead of taking the reins at Marks & Spencer in January, finance director Richard Pennycook took responsibility for yesterday’s trading [...]
Goldman hires 272 new MDs

November 19, 2009

GOLDMAN Sachs has invited 272 executives to join the ranks of its managing directors, in yet another sign of its rude health following the global downturn. The promotions will make the executives eligible for more of Goldman’s lucrative bonus pool next year. The group of 272 is smaller than the 299 promoted during 2007, a [...]
Horlick loses fund contract

November 19, 2009

NICOLA Horlick’s Bramdean Asset Management has lost its lucrative management contract at listed investment fund Bramdean Alternatives, five months after the end of a bruising spat with its biggest shareholder, property mogul Vincent Tchenguiz. The contract has been passed to Aberdeen Asset Management for an initial three-year period. The fund’s board added it would bring [...]
British economy is back to 2005 levels

November 19, 2009

JUST in case you were in any doubt about the scale of the crisis engulfing Britain’s public finances, yesterday’s official figures demonstrated that the situation is, if anything, worse than even the gloomiest economists had been predicting. Government revenues collapsed by 9.1 per cent year on year in October; they have slumped by a tenth [...]
L&Gready to name chair

November 19, 2009

Legal and General will name its next chairman within the next ten days, City PM understands. The group is understood to have picked John Stewart, former boss of Woolwich, as its front-running candidate. Sources close to L&G say the candidate has been picked, but must now be vetted by City watchdog the FinancialServices Authority. L&G [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING

November 19, 2009

FINANCIAL TIMES VODAFONE?VEXED BY VERIZON STANCEThe chief executive of Vodafone yesterday said that the question of dividend payments from Verizon Wireless, its US joint venture, was one of the most pressing items on the company’s agenda. Speaking at a MorganStanley investor conference in Barcelona, Vittorio Colao said: “We need to solve the US situation.” EUROPEAN [...]
Windows 7 selling strongly

November 19, 2009

Sales of Microsoft’s Windows 7 are at twice the level of any previous version of the operating system, the company’s chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday. Windows 7, launched a month ago, has “already sold twice as many units” than its predecessors after the same initial period, Ballmer told shareholders at the technology giant’s annual [...]
Tesco to tie up with C&W

November 19, 2009

Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket, is set to spark a price-war in the telecoms sector when it ties up with Cable & Wireless. The new venture will threaten rivals BT, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse. The tie-up is forecast to generate £2bn in annual sales and £200m in yearly profits over the medium term.
Royal Mint ramps up gold output

November 19, 2009

The Royal Mint has more than quadrupled its production of gold coins in the third quarter after demand for the precious metal increased as investors sought it to hedge currency fluctuations. Output rose to 32,735.8 ounces from 7,500.2 ounces a year before.
BA trustees stick by boss in pension row

November 19, 2009

THE trustees of British Airways’ pension scheme have stood by chairman Roger Maynard amid further calls for him to resign and be replaced by an independent figure. A spokesman said the trustees were satisfied there was no conflict of interest in Maynard’s roles as director of investments at BA, director of Spanish carrier Iberia and [...]