MPs to grill Bank’s Mark Carney on Osborne interest rate pact claim August 18, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be quizzed by MPs next month over whether he has faced any political pressure to keep interest rates at their historic low. Carney and chancellor George Osborne have been hit by suggestions this week that they struck a deal to keep rates low until after the election. Mark [...]
Punch Taverns launches long-awaited £2.3bn debt deal August 18, 2014 BRITAIN’S second largest pub group yesterday launched a £2.3bn debt restructuring proposal, largely unchanged from the one announced in June and aims to reduce Punch’s debt by £600m, now with the support of 65 per cent of its lenders. After nearly 650 days of negotiations with lenders over how Punch could best secure the future [...]
Supermarkets spark Bank Holiday petrol price war by slashing costs August 18, 2014 Britain’s leading supermarkets have fired the latest salvo in a fuel price war after slashing prices at their pumps today in a bid to win over customers ahead of the Bank Holiday. Asda was the first to take action, announcing that it would cut the cost of petrol by up to two pence per litre [...]
Brussels set to make payouts for farmers hit by Putin’s sanctions August 18, 2014 EUROZONE fruit and vegetable farmers hit by the Russian government’s food sanctions are set for a payout, with Brussels pledging €125m (£99.9m) in compensation to those affected yesterday. The action is designed to help prop up food prices in the single market. Dacian Ciolos, the EU’s agriculture commissioner, said that the action was meant to [...]
David Cameron rules out troops on ground in Iraq August 18, 2014 David Cameron has ruled out UK forces joining the American-led military offensive in Iraq, warning: “We’re not going to be putting boots on the ground, we’re not going to be sending in the British army”. His promise comes amid continued fighting in the region, which saw Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Iraqi government forces retake the [...]
German ban on Uber car hire overturned August 18, 2014 Germany’s administrative court yesterday overturned a ban on taxi and mini-cab hire app Uber. The ban was imposed by the Berlin State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs, which claimed the app could endanger customers as it allowed unverified drivers to pick up customers. Uber argued it provided competition which drove up standards.
Balfour Beatty looks to sell US arm Parsons Brinckerhoff in latest Carillion merger battle twist August 18, 2014 The long battle over a possible £3bn mega-merger between Carillion and Balfour Beatty took another turn last night, as Balfour was believed to be in advanced negotiations to sell its US business Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) to a Canadian bidder, adding to the pressure facing Carillion as it has been considering its options for another offer [...]
PwC fined $25m for hiding bank information from US regulators August 18, 2014 Consultants at PwC hid information from regulators on Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi’s efforts to falsify records of sanction breaking, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said yesterday, issuing a $25m (£14.9m). The professional services giant is also banned from some regulatory consulting work for two years. The bank falsified wire transfer data when [...]
Ineos moves into UK shale gas exploration as it joins firms seeking to frack August 18, 2014 Ineos has joined the dash to frack with the acquisition of a 51 per cent share of the Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL), as the company looks to take part in the nascent shale gas industry in the UK. The petrochemical company, the fourth largest in the world, announced its move into shale gas [...]
UK’s industrial firms named as regional stars of world’s manufacturing sector August 18, 2014 UK factories are in a sweet spot, according to a report on global industrial conditions released this morning, with companies re-shoring to an increasingly competitive UK manufacturing sector. The Boston Consulting Group released research on the state of the world’s manufacturing sector this morning, calling the UK a “rising regional star”. The authors also say [...]