Majority of WPP shareholders reject CEO pay
13th Jun 2012 14:54
WPP shareholders have rejected Chief Executive Sir Martin Sorrell's pay at the media conglomerate's annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, with three-fifths of voters protesting against the remuneration report. The director has become the latest in a string of bosses to suffer a significant pr
Read moreLondon midday: Bids add spice to bland market
13th Jun 2012 12:12
With Spanish government bond yields rising to all-time highs in the Eurozone era, Footsie is back to square one after a confident start. There are no major UK economic indicators today to provide direction and not a lot of corporate news flow either, adding to the general air of ennui. Supermarke
Read moreLondon open: London rises on Wall Street tailwinds
13th Jun 2012 08:40
Taking their lead from US and Asian markets, London's leading stocks have opened on the front foot. Wall Street rebounded strongly yesterday on hopes that the US Federal reserve might do a bit more to stimulate the US economy. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, speaking in an
Read moreLondon pre-open: Shares to track US and Asia bourses higher
13th Jun 2012 07:31
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 16 points from yesterday's close of 5,474, tracking US and Asian stocks higher as stocks recover from the news that Spanish bond yields reached their highest level since the creation of the euro currency. The keenly awaited trading update for superma
Read moreWPP snaps up Indian marketing firm
13th Jun 2012 07:05
Advertising and media conglomerate WPP has bought a majority stake in Mumbai based Hungama Digital Services for an undisclosed sum. Hungama Digital Services is part of Hungama Digital Entertainment and specialises in marketing strategies, web design, digital marketing, search engine marketing, soci
Read moreWednesday preview: Sainsbury set to embarrass Tesco
12th Jun 2012 18:42
Sainsbury, once king of the hill in the UK grocery market, is set to embarrass the current market leader, Tesco, when it issues a trading update on Wednesday. While earlier this week Tesco tried to put a brave face on a 1.5% decline in like-for-like sales (excluding VAT and petrol) in the UK, Sains
Read moreChief Executive pay keeps rising
12th Jun 2012 09:05
FTSE 100 Chief Executives enjoyed bumper pay rises in 2011 while their employees got virtually no increase at all, according to a new report. The average wage earned by Chief Executives in the UK's biggest firms was £4.8m, up 12% on the year before. In contrast, employees at FTSE 100 companies saw
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: China, RBS, Syria
11th Jun 2012 07:05
China's leadership remains under pressure to rescue the world's second-biggest economy from an ugly slowdown, despite a surprise leap in foreign trade last month. Exports surged by 15.3 per cent compared with May last year, while imports increased by 12.7 per cent thanks to a rise in demand for crud
Read moreChime defies Sorrell, flogs Bell Pottinger
31st May 2012 10:12
Marketing firm Chime Communications is to sell its public relations arm, Bell Pottinger, to its own Chairman and deputy Chairman. The deal will cost Chairman Lord (Tim) Bell and Deputy Chairman Piers Pottinger £19.6m and see them resign from the board of Chime. Of the £19.6m, £13.9m is payable in
Read moreLondon midday: Gains erased as Spain dents sentiment
29th May 2012 11:37
- Spanish concerns weigh on European markets - Earlier optimism surrounding China outweighed by euro worries - Banks slip into the red, miners trim gains Miners had pared their gains by Tuesday lunchtime, meaning that the Footsie had slipped back to where it had started, as Eurozone concerns outwei
Read moreLondon open: Miners jump on Chinese growth hopes
29th May 2012 08:25
- Chinese stimulus hopes boost miners - Wolseley drops after third-quarter update - Greek banks receive liquidity injection Just a couple of stocks on the FTSE 100 were in the red in early trading on Tuesday, as the blue chip index jumped on the back of Chinese stimulus hopes. Markets across Europ
Read moreLondon pre-open: FTSE to track Asian stocks higher
29th May 2012 07:28
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 25 points from yesterday's close of 5,356, tracking Asian stocks higher. Sentiment over Greece has been boosted by another poll in the country which showed that the pro-bailout New Democracy party is leading amongst voters as the country prepares for th
Read moreWPP expands digital marketing division in France
29th May 2012 07:04
Advertising and media giant WPP is to buy a majority stake in French digital data and campaign technology marketing group Predictys, as it attempts to widen its footprint in the digital industry. Predictys, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Grenoble, has a co-operative database which includes in
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
22nd May 2012 09:26
Chamberlin: Charles Stanley maintains buy rating and 175p target. easyJet: Investec upgrades from hold to buy, target hiked from 500p to 670p. HomeServe: Charles Stanley cuts target from 290p to 250p, rating under review; Jefferies maintains underperform rating and 195p target. Inmarsat: UBS cut
Read moreLondon pre-open: Quiet start expected
21st May 2012 07:52
City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open little changed, as the market awaits more developments in the Eurozone. Real estate investment trust British Land increased underlying profit before tax by 5.1% to £269m in the year to the end of March. Net asset value per share was up 4.9% to 595p. "We
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