Weir chief says no to Scottish independence April 3, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of Scottish engineering giant Weir Group yesterday warned of the “guaranteed” costs of independence and said he would vote “no” in September’s referendum. The FTSE 100-listed firm commissioned Oxford Economics to produce a report on the business implications of Scottish Independence, which claims that the move would “create a number of costs [...]
Lloyds in bid to up top exec pay April 3, 2014 LLOYDS Banking Group is seeking shareholder approval to boost the pay of its 400 most senior staff. The bank, which the government still holds a 24.9 per cent stake in, wants the flexibility to pay its executives up to 200 per cent of their salaries via bonus awards. The move comes ahead of new EU [...]
Ed Balls sparks benefits row April 3, 2014 LABOUR’S shadow chancellor Ed Balls has sparked a political row over tax and benefit changes, accusing David Cameron of hitting families hardest. Labour’s analysis of the figures produced by the Institute of Fiscal Studies after last month’s Budget, show that on average, people will be £974 per year worse off since 2010 when the coalition [...]
Smog over London set to lift today April 3, 2014 SOUTH westerly winds are expected to lift most of the smog over London today after two days of high pollution levels. London mayor Boris Johnson called for “a little bit of a sense of proportion” on the smog, which prompted some schools to keep students indoors.
Banks expecting sharp jump in the demand for mortgage loans April 3, 2014 BANKS are expecting to provide more credit for mortgages and business loans in the coming three months, a closely-watched survey revealed yesterday. The Bank of England’s latest credit conditions survey, which is released every quarter, said that the availability of secured credit for households edged up in the opening three months of the year – [...]
Modest growth but no upsurge for euro firms April 3, 2014 THE EUROZONE’S firms recorded another modest expansion in March but missed out on a more rapid return to growth, according to a major survey of companies. The Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) pointed to further reasonable growth last month, with a score of 53.1. Any score over the neutral level of 50 suggests that businesses [...]
EU votes to abolish all mobile roaming fees by Christmas 2015 April 3, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of proposals to scrap mobile roaming fees across Europe yesterday. Under the new rules voted in yesterday making a call or sending an email from a mobile phone whilst abroad in Europe will cost the same as it does in the UK from 15 December 2015. “This is [...]
Inside Track: City’s tech industry hopes are wrapped up in Just Eat April 3, 2014 JUST Eat shares got off to a very decent start in unconditional trading yesterday in a deal that has demolished some people’s reservations about the London new issues market for technology stocks. Contrary to what a number of experts said at City A.M.’s roundtable on the new issues market last June, London does seem prepared [...]
Miller’s apology over mortgage expense claims April 3, 2014 GOVERNMENT minister Maria Miller has been forced to apologise to the House of Commons after a committee found she breached the MPs code of conduct and failed to fully cooperate with an inquiry into her expenses. Miller will be forced to pay back £5,800 after she overclaimed for mortgage payments in 2009 and some are [...]
MF Global brokerage starts payouts April 3, 2014 Former customers of MF Global’s bankrupt brokerage will recoup all $6.7bn they are owed following the completion of a payout that will begin today, its trustee said. Nearly 26,500 former commodities and securities customers of the MF Global brokerage will share in the payout, which will be made over the next several weeks, the trustee, [...]