HSBC profits triple to £12bn
Chairman Douglas Flint yesterday revealed that 253 staff took home seven-figure sums last year  89 of them in the UK.

New chief executive Stuart Gulliver pocketed a whopping £5.2million bonus.

HSBC made £11.8billion  nearly three times as much as in 2009 and the strongest showing by a Big Four bank this year.

Mr Gulliver said all the bank's regions and customer groups were profitable. But incredibly the shares tumbled more than five per cent as the City had hoped for even more.

Analysts pointed to higher costs, falling revenues and a warning of lower returns as tough new rules force HSBC to hoard more capital in the future.

Colin Morton, fund manager at RENSBURG FUND MANAGEMENT, said: "All in all it's not a very good performance."

Mr Gulliver admitted much of the profit jump was down to a sharp fall in bad debts  the money written off for unpaid loans. But profits at HSBC'S UK retail arm rose 33 per cent to £1.3billion. HSBC's investment bank made £5.7billion.

It meant HSBC's investment bankers around the world shared a pay and bonus pot of £2.9billion.

One unnamed banker took home £8.5million in 2010.

Outgoing boss Mike Geoghegan got £5.8million plus a "golden goodbye" of £1million. Chairman Douglas Flint took home £4.1million.

Simon Chouffot, of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said the "lottery-sized pay packets" were a slap in the face for thousands of public sector workers facing the axe.

Mr Flint insisted HSBC  which never needed a Government bailout  understood the public mood.

But he warned Chancellor George Osborne's bank levy was an additional cost on doing business in the UK.

And he told Sun City: "We have a responsibility to build for the future for the benefit of our shareholders."

BUNGLING telecoms firm TALKTALK is paying out a huge £2.5MILLION in compensation for a nationwide billing fiasco.

A staggering 62,000 customers were owed money after being charged for services they had cancelled, watchdog Ofcom revealed yesterday.

It is the biggest compensation bill of its kind levied by the regulator.

Ofcom launched an investigation last summer after hundreds of customers complained they were still receiving bills despite having called repeatedly to cancel phone or broadband packages.

TalkTalk blamed problems integrating the TISCALI business it bought in 2009. But it flatly denied the scale of the problem when quizzed by Sun City last autumn.

Ofcom said yesterday it will not fine TalkTalk as the firm insists it has "fixed" the problems.

But the regulator added: "Ofcom is still receiving some complaints.

"In light of these and information obtained from the companies, Ofcom will continue its investigation."

A TalkTalk spokesman said: "We're pleased that Ofcom has recognised the significant steps we've taken to fix the billing issues identified."

TWICE as many customers complained about LLOYDS in the second half of last year than any other bank.

More than 22,000 reported it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND was second. Moans about HSBC doubled to 8,238.

STATE-owned bank NORTHERN ROCK is launching 90 per cent mortgages just three years after risky lending brought it down. Insiders said it would help kick-start the home loan market.

But critics said the bank was driving profits ahead of a sale back to private hands.

CAR hire giant AVIS EUROPE had a bumper year  led by the UK.

The company yesterday said corporate business bounced back over the second half of 2010.

And it has picked up a series of contracts with insurers to provide replacement vehicles to motorists involved in minor accidents.

Annual profits rose 45 per cent to £42.2million.

Chief executive Pascal Bazin said after the figures were announced: "During the past two years we have engineered a significant turnaround."

RECRUITMENT specialist HAYS has seen a surge in demand from UK firms  but only to fill gaps left by staff swapping jobs.

Chief exec Alistair Cox warned it could still be months before clients are creating new roles.

He said: "Firms are confident enough to replace people but they are not yet confident enough to go that step further."

Half-year profits soared 60 per cent to £48.6million, thanks to a 38 per cent growth in fees in Asia. Public sector fees in the UK fell 36 per cent in the six months to the end of December.

E-BOOK sales have soared 18-FOLD at BLOOMSBURY, publisher of Harry Potter's wizard adventures.

The group generated nearly £1.5million from digital versions of its best-sellers in 2010 for devices such as Kindle. More than 40 per cent of US sales of Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question  winner of the Man Booker Prize  were e-books.

Chief exec Nigel Newton said: "We couldn't have a better goal than enabling as much of our business as possible to move to e-book format."

Annual profits rose £700,000 to £8.4million.

THE man who read Sir Terry Leahy's 1979 job application to TESCO has said: "I never thought he'd be chief executive."

Ivor Hueting, now a training consultant, said Sir Terry, who got the top job in 1997, "never gave the impression of being deadly ambitious  just a great worker".

New chief Phil Clarke, a shelf stacker at 14, took charge yesterday.
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250 ‘millionaire’ bankers have hit the jackpot as giant nearly TREBLES its profits
Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness
Action title Batman: Arkham City is turning into a "who's who" of villains from Dark Knight lore, including the Joker, Catwoman and the Riddler.

Also making an appearance: The Penguin, featured in this video recently released by developer Rocksteady Games.

The game launches Oct. 18 for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

See photos of: PlayStation, Warner Bros., Batman

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Video: Penguin pays a visit to 'Arkham City' - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness - USATODAY.com - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness