News

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

Sir Stuart again failed to tell the City his succession plans

November 4, 2009

ONE of the most hotly-debated succession sagas looks set to keep on rolling as M&S yesterday shunned questions about how the search for Sir Stuart Rose’s successor was progressing. Rose furiously batted away questions on the M&S’s succession plans, despite it being a concern weighing heavily on many analysts’ minds. “I’m not answering questions on [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS M&S RIGHT TO INTRODUCE OTHER BRANDS INTO ITS STORES?

November 4, 2009

CHARLES MARLOND TALBOT VALIDUS“At a time when most supermarkets are introducing their own lines as a cheaper alternative to branded products – this is a bit different. People are fond of their favourite brands, but I don’t believe it will alter many people’s shopping habits.” KATE PRISKELL MONETISE“?I think it’s a bit sad M&S has [...]
Rosy services data boosts UK prospects

November 4, 2009

STRONG growth in Britain’s services sector added to the more upbeat mood prevailing in the UK yesterday, ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision. The CIPS/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) yesterday showed the headline business activity index surge to 56.9 in October above 55.3 in September and beating the consensus forecast of [...]
Services sector in Europe sees strong growth

November 4, 2009

SERVICES activity in the Eurozone grew at its fastest rate since December 2007, boosted by sharp rises in both the business activity and new orders balances. The headline Markit business activity index for October came in at 52.6, beating both the flash estimate and the September reading. The strongest expansion was seen in France, which [...]
QE decision likely to split Bank’s MPC

November 4, 2009

QUANTITATIVE EASING should be extended this month despite the more upbeat outlook for the UK economy, according to City PM’s shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which narrowly voted in favour of further asset purchases this month. Ahead of the Bank of England’s decision on interest rates and its QE policy, which is due at midday [...]
CITY A.M. SHADOW MPC

November 4, 2009

ALLISTER HEATH CITY A.M.“The MPC should hold QE – or at the very least increase it by less than £25bn while signalling that the measures are coming to an end. The latest PMI figures show that growth is slowly but surely returning to the UK.” SIMON WARD HENDERSON NEW STAR“Hold rates, suspend QE. The weight [...]
RBS board may miss out

November 4, 2009

THE boss and directors of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) may not get bonuses if the majority state-owned bank fails to hit government lending targets, sparking fears of an exodus of senior bankers, it emerged yesterday. Chief executive Stephen Hester and senior colleagues will miss out on payments if RBS falls short of lending conditions [...]
Meet steely Neelie Kroes, the queen of UK banks

November 4, 2009

Brussels competition chief Neelie Kroes yesterday unveiled the most radical shake-up of UK retail banking in living memory, ordering Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group to sell off assets and authorising an extra £40bn injection of taxpayer money into the banks. The extra capital from the Treasury only served to stoke the anger [...]
How brand perceptions differ across the pond

November 3, 2009

HOW different are British and American perceptions of the same brands? We took a quick look at the BrandIndex UK and US scores of three pairs of brands. Not surprisingly, American Airlines did better in America (average for the last year, plus 14) than in the UK (plus 6), and British Airways did better in [...]
BP and CNPC sign a huge Iraqi oil deal

November 3, 2009

OIL major BP and China’s CNPC yesterday signed Iraq’s first major new oil deal since the 2003 US invasion, snapping up a lucrative development contract for the Rumaila oilfield – one of the world’s biggest. The 20-year contract for the southern oilfield is the first of several deals Iraq expects to sign in the coming [...]