Hollande hit by National Front gains in France March 31, 2014 FRENCH President Francois Hollande suffered a humiliating blow in yesterday’s local elections, as his ruling Socialist party lost out to both its mainstream right-wing rival and to the National Front (FN). Results last night showed Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration FN had added 10 town halls to its victory last week in Henin-Beaumont, while over 100 [...]
Watchdog under pressure after insurance firm fiasco March 31, 2014 THE CITY watchdog will come under renewed pressure from insurers today demanding urgent action from George Osborne to prevent a repeat of the regulator’s mis-step that led insurance shares to plunge on Friday. The industry will write to the chancellor to raise “serious concerns” about the disclosure of information by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) [...]
More to spend as income growth above inflation March 31, 2014 HOUSEHOLDS have seen their weekly discretionary spending rise by £5 in the year to February, the fastest uptick for 15 months, Asda’s income tracker suggests. The analysis of UK incomes released today shows typical disposable incomes rising to £169 per week this February, a 2.95 per cent increase since February 2013. The supermarket highlighted declining [...]
Royal Mail float review to back Cable price view March 31, 2014 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable was right to dismiss calls by some investment banks to value Royal Mail at billions of pounds more than the firm’s eventual float price, the spending watchdog is expected to say this week. The National Audit Office (NAO) will tomorrow publish the findings of its investigation into the government’s privatisation of [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 31 March 2014 March 31, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES SocGen accused over Libya deals The Libyan Investment Authority has accused Société Générale of helping to funnel bribes worth tens of millions of dollars to close associates of Saif al-Islam, the son of former Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi. The claim was made in a $1.5bn lawsuit filed against the French bank in London’s [...]
Banks may win reprieve from market probe March 31, 2014 THE BANKING industry is changing so dramatically that the new competition regulator may choose not launch an investigation into the market, City A.M. understands. The move comes despite calls from Labour’s Ed Miliband to shake up the sector. The opposition leader wants to create two new banks – possibly carving them out of Lloyds and [...]
Labour eyes cut to tuition fees as repayment rate continues to fall March 31, 2014 THE LABOUR party is set to confirm a cut in tuition fees that could reduce what students pay by thousands of pounds. Initial plans could see fees slashed by £3,000 a year to £6,000, with suggestions they could fall as low as £4,000 in the future. Douglas Alexander, shadow foreign secretary, told the BBC’s Andrew [...]
US and Russia work on easing Ukraine crisis March 31, 2014 AMERICA’S surprise meeting with Russian officials in Paris last night yielded some common ground over the annexing of Crimea, though tensions remain high. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who stopped off in France following a Middle Eastern trip, said he had stressed during four hours of talks with the Russians that the country’s actions [...]
Buyers struggle to raise deposit as market soars March 31, 2014 HOUSE buyers across England and Wales are paying the highest proportion of their property’s asking price since 2004, with the average house going for more than 99 per cent of the asking price in London. In March so far, buyers are shelling out 96.2 per cent of property asking prices, according to Hometrack’s assessment of [...]
Prime London prices up by more than two thirds in past five years March 31, 2014 PRIME central London prices have risen by more than two-thirds since their post-Lehman Brothers low, according to new research that looks at how recent political events, as well as economics, have affected prices. According to Knight Frank’s central London index out today, prices have risen 68 per cent since the bottom of the market in [...]