Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 21:21:00

While many companies expect the business climate to deteriorate over the next 12 months, research finds that investing in employees is the best way to avert a recession

Costly credit Over three-quarters of CFOs have found credit harder to obtain this year, according to Deloitte’s quarterly survey of CFOs....

Phil Thornton, Financial Director, Monday 25 August 2008 at 00:05:00

As consumer spending weakened and economists warned of recession, the Office for National Statistics reported growth in retail sales – data that was taken with a pinch of salt by the Bank of England

If business economists live and die by statistics then official data on retail sales over the summer risked giving many of them a heart attack....

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:58:00

Merrill Lynch tax deferral; Alliance & Leicester shareholders risk exposure; plus Technical Update, and more

Euroshrink The eurozone saw GDP contract by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2008, the first contraction for the area since the introduction of the euro, raising fears it is...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:58:00

Merrill Lynch tax deferral, Alliance & Leicester shareholders risk exposure, plus Technical Update, and more

Euroshrink The eurozone saw GDP contract by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2008, the first contraction for the area since the introduction of the euro, raising fears it is...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:33:00

Airports operator BAA may be forced to sell three of its seven UK airports to pave the way for competition, the Competition Commission announced in late August

BAA airports enquiry chairman Christopher Clarke blasted BAA’s poor service and blamed its lack of capacity on bad planning, as well as failure to exploit growth opportunities across its portfolio....

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:29:00

Ex-Barclays finance director Naguib Kheraj has been made chief executive of investment bank JPMorgan Cazenove, having returned to his first love – investment banking

Kheraj cut his teeth as a director of investment banking at Salomon in the mid-1980s prior to becoming European CFO, later forging his reputation as a star banker at Barclays’...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:25:00

Bradford & Bingley appoints Richard Pym as its new chief executive

Staid and uninspiring is the Daily Telegraph’s take on former Alliance & Leicester CEO Richard Pym. But the freshly appointed chief executive of Bradford & Bingley, on a salary of...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Sunday 24 August 2008 at 23:17:00

As head of Tesco Retail Services, FD Andy Higginson could be destined for the number one job at the supermarket giant

Tesco finance and strategy director Andy Higginson looks to be a contender for a future group CEO role at supermarkets giant Tesco, with his appointment in late July as chief...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:43:00

Our reader survey reveals that finance directors have been readying themselves for a prolonged downturn and, as a result, exude a confidence in otherwise scant supply these days

Be prepared. It’s tough out there right now, isn’t it? But it’s not so much the credit crunch that is causing headaches; the sheer volume of bad news and doom-mongering...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:43:00

Our reader survey reveals that finance directors have been readying themselves for a prolonged downturn and, as a result, exude a confidence in otherwise scant supply these days

Be prepared. It’s tough out there right now, isn’t it? But it’s not so much the credit crunch that is causing headaches; the sheer volume of bad news and doom-mongering...

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:34:00

Downturns put pressure on cash flow. Squeezing your suppliers with slower payment isn’t the right response

One of the inevitable consequences of a long economic boom is the way a certain sloppiness creeps into the most well-run debtor control systems....

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:34:00

Downturns put pressure on cash flow. Squeezing your suppliers with slower payment isn’t the right response

One of the inevitable consequences of a long economic boom is the way a certain sloppiness creeps into the most well-run debtor control systems....

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:23:00

Pre-tax profit across the UK’s five biggest banks sank by nearly 60% in the first six months of 2008 as a result of huge write-downs on bad loans

According to analysis by KPMG of interim and annual financial statements from HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HBOS and Lloyds TSB, pre-tax profit among the five biggest players for...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:23:00

Pre-tax profit across the UK’s five biggest banks sank by nearly 60% in the first six months of 2008 as a result of huge write-downs on bad loans

According to analysis by KPMG of interim and annual financial statements from HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HBOS and Lloyds TSB, pre-tax profit among the five biggest players for...

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:18:00

The UK will be in recession by 2009 followed by weak growth going into 2010, according to the British Chambers of Commerce

The BCC revealed in its quarterly economic forecast, published in mid-August, that it believed there was a “distinct possibility of a technical recession” for the UK....

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:18:00

The UK will be in recession by 2009 followed by weak growth going into 2010, according to the British Chambers of Commerce

The BCC revealed in its quarterly economic forecast, published in mid-August, that it believed there was a “distinct possibility of a technical recession” for the UK....

David Kern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:13:00

Inflation continues to accelerate, but threats to growth are even more severe, forcing central banks to either ditch or delay plans for additional tightening. The contrast between the US and Europe is widening

Only a few months ago, alarm over rising inflation pushed the world’s central banks to adopt a tougher stance. Among the main players, the US Fed, the Bank of England,...

David Kern, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 15:13:00

Inflation continues to accelerate, but threats to growth are even more severe, forcing central banks to either ditch or delay plans for additional tightening. The contrast between the US and Europe is widening

Only a few months ago, alarm over rising inflation pushed the world’s central banks to adopt a tougher stance. Among the main players, the US Fed, the Bank of England,...

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 14:47:00

After almost a quarter of a century working for HJ Heinz, FD Garry Price hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm ­ – it seems 57 varieties really are the spice of life

Garry Price is full of beans. There’s no other way to describe him. We meet him on an auspicious day: it’s exactly 23 years since he started his career as...

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Friday 22 August 2008 at 14:47:00

After almost a quarter of a century working for HJ Heinz, FD Garry Price hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm ­ – it seems 57 varieties really are the spice of life

Garry Price is full of beans. There’s no other way to describe him. We meet him on an auspicious day: it’s exactly 23 years since he started his career as...