Tuesday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, Pets at Home, Marks&Spencer

25th Mar 2014 06:36

Lloyds is about to sail into another storm of criticism over alleged financial misconduct. BBC Radio 4 will today claim that its investigation shows the lender has been providing "alternative redress" to more than one in four claimants of payment protection inusrance (PPI). By assuming that customers who were wrongly sold single-premium PPI on credit cards or loans would have have bought cheaper regular premium policy instead the bank can pay less compensation. A spokesman for Lloyds "strongly disputed" the BBC´s claim that one in four customers were affected, saying that 11 per cent had been given "comparative redress" as set out in the Financial Conduct Authority´s handbook, according to The Times. Directors at Pets at Home have wasted no time cashing in since the company went public earlier this month. According to a late announcement eight directors have already cut their holdings by a cumulative £15m. In the past sizeable sales of stock by insiders following a flotation have set of alarm bells ringing for investors, as executives tend to hang on to their shares if they believe rapid growth at the company still lies ahead. Chief Executive Nick Wood added £4.5m to his fortune by selling 1.8m shares. He had already made £20m during his two year tenure, The Daily Mail writes. Marks&Spencer´s director of IT Darrell Steinm and property director Clem Constantine have resigned. The former was the brains behind the company´s new M&S website, and the revamping of its IT infrastructure, which was launched last month. Sources close to the company were not surprised by the former´s decision, given that the project was completed and handed over to the multi-channel retail team. Constantine is understood to be leaving to work at a consultancy. They are only the most recent of several high-level departures, The Times said.Siemens has committed to spending £160m to construct Britain´s first two wind-farm manufacturing plants in Hull for the so-called Round 3 offshore projects in the North Sea. That comes in the aftermath of Westminster´s new Energy Bill which guarantees that wind farm operators shall be paid thrice the current wholesale price of electricity and ensure that the factory can work at capacity. The new factory will build next generation blades for six megawatt turbines which, when rotating, cover an area of two and a half football pitches, The Times reports. The chief of JP Morgan´s investment banking arm in China is leaving, an internal memo from the bank showed on Monday, according to The Wall Street Journal. That comes amidst an ongoing US Department of Justice investigation of the bank under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Authorities are investigating whether a programme originally called "sons and daughters" - which favoured hiring children from prominent Chinese families - might have been in violation of the FCPA. Looking to recover from a difficult 2013 troubled women's fashion retailer Hobbs has inked a deal with US department store chain Bloomingdale´s, which will see it expand into the US. Private-equity group 3i recently decided to write off 40% of the company´s value following lacklustre Christmas sales, to shelve early plans for a sale and overhaul the management team. Ironically, it is precisely that drive overseas which may have distracted management. The company is looking to replicate the sucess achieved Stateside by other UK outfits such as Ted Baker, Topshop and Burberry, The Daily Telegraph says. AB