The most recent articles from Financial Director

Inflation fears transform interest rate prospects

David Kern — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:39:00 GMT

David Kern, Financial Director, Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 21:39:00

Major central banks have shocked the markets by taking a more hawkish stance. Rising inflation makes early interest rate hikes more likely, but threats to growth may eventually curb risks of higher inflation.

With oil prices rising above $140/barrel, inflation has resurfaced as the primary policy concern. Though the credit crisis continues to weaken activity, hopes of early interest rate cuts have been...

July/August: Corporate profits dip, but there's still hope for M&As

Andrew Sawers — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:32:00 GMT

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 21:32:00

Pension schemes hit by inflation, mid-range private equity buyouts in a slump, CFO jobs are unsustainable and much more...

Pension pain Rising inflation expectations are likely to have an adverse impact on defined benefit FTSE-100 pension schemes even though they are now showing an aggregate surplus of £6bn....

July/August

Andrew Sawers — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:32:00 GMT

Andrew Sawers, Financial Director, Tuesday 8 July 2008 at 21:32:00

Pension schemes hit by inflation; mid-range PE buyouts hit slump; CFO jobs unsustainable

Pension pain Rising inflation expectations are likely to have an adverse impact on defined benefit FTSE-100 pension schemes even though they are now showing an aggregate surplus of £6bn....

When rights go wrong

Jules Stewart — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:01:00 GMT

Jules Stewart, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 23:01:00

Billions of pounds in write-downs, plummeting profits and deep uncertainty have forced banks to go to shareholders to raise cash. But short-selling on rights issues could trip further pain

Never underestimate the banking industry’s ability to seek out the slickest of banana skins. The global credit crisis has forced billions in write-downs and triggered the need for several rounds...

How Sarbox hurts shares

Rachael Singh — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:53:00

With companies forced to publish flaws in internal controls underperforming the market, it seems no news really is good news

If anyone doubted the value-creating effect of regulatory compliance, new research reveals that the rigours of Sarbanes-Oxley can have a real impact on company share prices....

How sarbox hurts shares

Rachael Singh — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:53:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:53:00

With companies forced to publish flaws in internal controls underperforming the market, it seems no news really is good news

If anyone doubted the value-creating effect of regulatory compliance, new research reveals that the rigours of Sarbanes-Oxley can have a real impact on company share prices....

Interesting times

Phil Thornton — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:49:00 GMT

Phil Thornton, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:49:00

The Bank of England and the Treasury are locked in a battle of wills – and credibility

Everyone in business knows you have to read the small print in the contract to make sure you know where you stand when things go awry....

This is no ordinary crisis...

Charlotte Moore — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:36:00 GMT

Charlotte Moore, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:36:00

Inflation is soaring, economic growth is slowing, house prices are falling and now the retail sector is feeling the squeeze. Even the media gloom may still be too optimistic

You’d almost think the facts are in denial over the credit crunch gloom dominating the headlines. In June, the OECD said it thought the UK economy would grow by 1.8%...

Confidence low as builders crack

Christian Doherty — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:31:00 GMT

Christian Doherty, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:31:00

Any lingering doubts that the property sector was in the grip of recession were dispelled by news that industry leader Taylor Wimpey has failed in its efforts to secure needed funds.

Shares in Taylor Wimpey plummeted 55% after its leading investors refused to back a £500m rights issue. The biggest casualty of the controversy was FD Peter Johnson, who has “stepped...

Update July/August: HMRC's new chief; troubled times at GM; Darling's pay realism

Christian Doherty — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:17:00 GMT

Christian Doherty, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:17:00

Car tax U-turn More trouble for the government: it only narrowly avoided a Commons defeat over the controversial plans to increase tax on older, more polluting cars....

Emerging markets lead high net worth hotspots

Melanie Stern — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:02:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 22:02:00

The wealthiest entrepreneurs in emerging countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China enjoyed a surge in capital inflows and greater enrichment than the US, the UK and other developed countries in 2007, according to the latest Annual World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

The average wealth held by high net worth individuals (HNWI) surpassed $4m for the first time in the Annual World Wealth Report's history, increasing 9.4% to $40.7 trillion last year....

Sovereign wealth deals tactical, not political

Melanie Stern — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:56:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 21:56:00

Fears that sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are exploiting western markets’ need for cash to further their own political objectives are unfounded as most investments from such funds have been made to break into lucrative emerging markets, or non-political goods and services companies.

A new report from US think-tank Monitor says basic assumptions about the political motives of sovereign wealth funds do not chime with available data on 1,100 deals completed between 1975...

Business airs policy vacuum fears

Rachael Singh — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:51:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 21:51:00

Governments need to take the initiative on creating a global carbon market that will help preserve competitiveness

A group of 99 companies is calling on world leaders ahead of the Japanese G8 Summit later this month to speed up the delivery of a global carbon market....

The joule in the crown

Rachael Singh — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:33:00 GMT

Rachael Singh, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 21:33:00

Smart meters will take the guess work out of energy usage, helping companies to accurately track costs

Imprecise estimates of energy usage could be a thing of the past as the government charges ahead with the implementation of the cleverly titled “smart meters”....

Stepping into the breach

Neil Hodge — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:27:00 GMT

Neil Hodge, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 21:27:00

Many companies are still unaware their data is being compromised, let alone putting in measures to protect it

It seems organisations still cannot get the hang of protecting their data after a report found that nearly nine out of 10 corporate data breaches could have been prevented....

FSA issues rights warning

Neil Hodge — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:25:00 GMT

Neil Hodge, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 13:25:00

Regulator’s new rules are intended to stop share prices being artificially driven down by short-sellers

The Financial Services Authority has rushed in new rules requiring investors to disclose the scale of their short-selling in companies that are executing rights issues....

Pensions special feature: Rush hour

Anthony Harrington — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 13:02:00

The dash is on for the lucrative pensions buyout market. But there’s a high price for getting the sums wrong

The normally solid, uncontroversial insurance industry is currently caught up in the dust cloud caused by a stampede towards defined benefit buyout schemes....

Pensions special: Rush hour

Anthony Harrington — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 13:02:00

The dash is on for the lucrative pensions buyout market. But there's a high price for getting the sums wrong

The normally solid, uncontroversial insurance industry is currently caught up in the dust cloud caused by a stampede towards defined benefit buyout schemes....

Pensions special: Give and take

Anthony Harrington — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:33:00 GMT

Anthony Harrington, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 12:33:00

The FD may be conflicted out of being a pension scheme trustee. But he still has a vital role to play

Man cannot serve two masters - a concept any finance director considering whether or not to sit as a trustee on their organisation's pension scheme board well knows....

Easy targets

Melanie Stern — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:09:00 GMT

Melanie Stern, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 12:09:00

As the FD job evolves into a more visible strategic role, there is a danger of more ending up as public patsies whose careers - and reputations - never recover

On 12 June, a short but telling statement issued by investment bank Lehman Brothers announced the departure of its chief operating officer Joe Gregory and chief financial officer Erin Callan....

InterContinental Hotels FD, Richard Solomons

Catherine Chetwynd — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Catherine Chetwynd, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 12:00:00

InterContinental Hotels finance director Richard Solomons gets the benefit of having more and more hotel rooms - even though he has sold £3bn of hotels

Three weeks after 9/11 is a hell of a time to take on a new job in finance. And it's a dreadful time to try to pull off a major...

Economics: Very average

Dennis Turner — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Dennis Turner, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 11:27:00

Everyone has their own rate of inflation. The Bank of England can only use one target

If a week is a long time in politics, a month is an eternity in economics. Between the May and June meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee there was a...

IT strategy: Now you see me

Robert Jaques — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:23:00 GMT

Robert Jaques, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 11:23:00

As recession fears creep into the corporate psyche, people are feeling the need to be seen in the office

In the quest to achieve that corporate holy grail of increased productivity and staff morale, flexible working has gained much ground as a win-win option....

Corporate governance: Not telling

Robert Bruce — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:15:00 GMT

Robert Bruce, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 11:15:00

Whether it's FDs or auditors, someone has to take the first step and be responsible for passing on bad news

Life, as we all know, would be simpler if everyone simply got on with it. But, particularly in the world of business, this rarely happens....

Accounting: Seconds out

Peter Williams — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:07:00 GMT

Peter Williams, Financial Director, Monday 7 July 2008 at 11:07:00

Fair value body blow has left the banking industry on the ropes. But there's still plenty of fight left

The long-simmering row between the international accounting standard setters and the world's leading banks appears to have ended in a victory for the former....