More than 1,000 investment bankers at Barclays have been told they will not receive up-front cash bonuses this year. Managing directors in the group’s investment banking arm were informed that their 2012 bonuses would be deferred for at least a year. The move is part of Antony Jenkins’ attempts to rebuild the bank’s image, which has been tarnished by Libor and mis-selling scandals. [The Independent]
Europe’s leaders are poised this morning to cut the European Union’s budget for the first time in its 56 year history following a major victory for David Cameron. Proposals tabled early on Friday morning for Brussels budgets for the period 2014 to 2020 would slash the EU’s spending by £30 billion between 2014 and 2020 compared to current levels of spending. The historic cuts package tabled by Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president, after a bitter battle between the Prime Minister and Francois Hollande, the French President, could save the British taxpayer up to £500 million a year. [The Telegraph]
Chinese exports and imports rose strongly in January, pointing towards solid growth both in China and abroad at the start of 2013. Exports increased 25 per cent from a year earlier, the fastest pace since April 2011 and up from 14.1 per cent in December. Imports increased 28.8 per cent, more than four-times December’s 6 per cent rise. The boom in imports trimmed China’s trade surplus to $29.2bn in January from $31.6bn a month earlier. Analysts called for caution in interpreting the figures because next week’s Chinese New Year holiday will have caused significant distortions, with companies trying to push as much business as possible into January before work is halted. [Financial Times]
The era of the Tesco or Sainsbury Post Office could be upon us. The state-owned Post Office yesterday announced plans to close dozens of main branches and instead move their operation into a local high street supermarket or newsagent. After already moving hundreds of its smaller local branches into outlets run by the likes of WH Smith or the Co-op, the Post Office wants to repeat the process with 70 so-called Crown post offices, which are now in search of a “retail partner”. The plan was immediately criticised by postal workers. Their union, the CWU, said that 700 jobs were under threat and feared the move was the thin end of the wedge of a radically different post office service in the future. [The Times]
The US’s top transportation safety investigator has questioned the “assumptions” regulators used before clearing Boeing’s use of controversial lithium-ion batteries on its grounded 787 Dreamliner. The national transportation safety board (NTSB) has been investigating the battery of a Japan Airlines 787 that caught fire at Boston’s Logan airport in January. NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman told reporters on Thursday that tests showed a failure in a single cell of the battery spread to the rest of the battery in a way unanticipated by Boeing. Before the Dreamliner’s approval for flight the company had discounted such an event, Hersman said. [The Guardian]
HMV’s administrator Deloitte is set to axe more than 900 jobs by closing 66 stores over the coming two months. The shops identified for closure include those in Wood Green, Wandsworth and Bayswater in London, and Burton-upon-Trent, Edinburgh, Wakefield, Wigan, Falkirk, Huddersfield and Chesterfield. HMV went into administration last month, putting more than 4,000 jobs at risk, although it continues to trade all its 220 stores. The coming closures will see 930 jobs cut.
