How 4 banks are cutting quarter of a million staff March 4, 2014 The true scale of British banks’ world-dominating ambitions in the boom years and devastating collapse in the crisis is still only now becoming clear – the latest figures show the big four banks have cut 200,000 jobs since the credit crunch struck. And another 50,000 or more are set to be cut in the next [...]
Steve Ballmer gets called “Bill” at Oxford March 4, 2014 Microsoft’s former chief exec and dancing man Steve Ballmer appeared at Said Business School, Oxford today to talk in front of a packed audience of students. He refrained from doing one of his signature dancing entrances but certainly wasn’t lacking in energy, characteristically whooping, clapping enthusiastically and calling people “dude” where possible. But even his [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 4, 2014 US stock futures have rallied, following open markets that are responding to the cooling situation between Russia and Ukraine. The US has said it’ll provide $1bn in loan guarantees to Ukraine, to help restore financial stability. The Treasury will also send “technical advisers” to help the country in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. [...]
How Ukraine’s unrest will affect prime London property prices March 4, 2014 World shares, particularly in banks, insurers, miners and energy stocks, have been hit as a result of the political tension and unrest in Ukraine. But what would be the cost of an economic fallout or any potential sanctions by the West against Russia have on the London property market? Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist of [...]
UK exposure to Ukraine crisis extremely limited March 4, 2014 The UK is facing only limited exposure to the crisis in Ukraine, according to a note from London-based consultancy Capital Economics. The UK's direct trade with Ukraine is close to insignificant, with UK exports to Ukraine amounting to just 0.2 per cent of the total in 2012. UK banks' are also relatively safe from exposure [...]
Why is Venezuela’s capital more expensive than London? March 4, 2014 London doesn’t make the top 10 in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest assessment of the world’s most expensive cities (which may be a surprise to anyone who’s trying to buy a house): Singapore, Paris and Oslo and are some of the predictable pricey towns that do. But readers might be surprised to [...]
Putin defends Gazprom price hikes on Ukraine March 4, 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended a planned price rises for Ukraine by state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom. Speaking to a press conference President Putin said: They failed to pay off the debt, I think it's $1.5bn as of today, and if they don't pay for February it's going to be $2bn. So if you [...]
Putin: Armed troops in Ukraine are last resort March 4, 2014 President Putin, who’s currently speaking at a news conference, has said there’s no need to send troops into Ukraine now, but that Russia still "has that option". Deploying armed forces is, he said, would only be done in an extreme case. "So the tense situation in Crimea related to the possibility of use of force [...]
The poll that shows not one majority in any Ukrainian region favours joining Russia March 4, 2014 Russia's incursion into Crimea has so far been justified on the grounds of protecting those citizens of Russian descent and Russian speakers. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, at UN meetings in Geneva, said "this is a question of defending our citizens and compatriots, ensuring human rights, especially the right to life." However, these [...]
Retail banks moving in right direction on bonus schemes says regulator March 4, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said this morning that all major retail banks have replaced or made “substantial changes” to financial incentive schemes. “Significant improvements” in weak areas across the industry have been made, it added in its statement this morning, although it found that one in 10 firms with sales teams had "high-risk" [...]