Fed blow to Citi as five banks fail stress tests March 26, 2014 THE FEDERAL Reserve last night rejected plans by Citigroup and the US subsidiaries of HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander to buy back shares or raise dividends. The Fed said that there were “qualitative concerns” over the five US banks’ capital plans, warning they would not allow them to survive in the event of [...]
UK banks pay 71 pc profit in tax March 26, 2014 THE biggest UK banks paid 71 per cent of their combined profits in taxes, KPMG analysts said yesterday, with 58 per cent going to levies like corporation and overseas taxes, and 13 per cent on the bank levy. And repeated hikes to the bank levy are draining lenders of crucial funds they could use to [...]
Politicians clamour to take credit for SSE price freeze March 26, 2014 POLITICIANS yesterday rushed to take credit for SSE’s pledge to freeze energy prices until 2016, despite the big six supplier combining the move with plans to slash its renewables investment and axe jobs. Prime minister David Cameron said the government’s decision to roll back some green levies from customers’ bills was responsible for the decision. [...]
L&G: Annuities will plummet £9bn in 2015 March 26, 2014 THE ANNUITY market will plunge from £11.9bn per year to just £2.8bn under new rules giving pensioners more financial freedom, Legal and General said yesterday. The shock prediction comes ahead of the government’s first wave of changes to pensions, which come into effect from today. The changes include cutting the minimum income requirement to draw [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 27 March 2014 March 26, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Tories eye migration sleight of hand Theresa May is proposing to cut net migration by more than 19,000 ahead of the next general election in a statistical sleight of hand that would shorten visas for foreign employees by as little as one day in a bid to avoid designating them as migrants. The [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of SSE’s price freeze and business plan? March 26, 2014 PETER ATHERTON | LIBERUM SSE are battening down the hatches. The price freeze won’t cost them that much; the big variable is wholesale power prices that could eat into earnings. ANGELOS ANASTASIOU | WHITMAN HOWARD The price freeze will lock SSE into lower returns, but by being proactive the firm has reduced the fear of political interference [...]
Murdoch moves eldest son into chairman role March 26, 2014 RUPERT Murdoch yesterday took a key step in preparing News Corp and Twenty-First Century Fox for his eventual retirement by promoting his two sons into key leadership positions. Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan, 42, will return to the business as non-executive co-chairman of both News Corp and Twenty-First Century Fox, roles he will share with his [...]
London house prices are not a bubble say official forecasters March 26, 2014 LONDON’S house prices are booming because of a lack of supply and are not in a bubble, the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) told MPs yesterday. Prices are rising by around 10 per cent per year in the capital, but are not set for a crash because demand will continue to outweigh supply. The OBR [...]
Labour triumphs in welfare vote March 26, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband avoided the mass revolt many party insiders were predicting yesterday, after just 11 Labour MPs voted against the welfare cap. The cap, proposed by the government and set at £119bn for 2015/16, was supported by Miliband’s party. High-profile dissenters included former shadow ministers Diane Abbott and Tom Watson, along with work [...]
Farage tops poll against Clegg in debate over EU March 26, 2014 UKIP leader Nigel Farage triumphed in yesterday’s tussle with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg over the UK’s membership of the European Union, according to a YouGov poll. The hour-long TV and radio debate focused on the impact of the EU on areas as widespread as immigration, jobs, the European arrest warrant and the crisis in [...]