Russia under fire over Crimea poll March 17, 2014 FOREIGN secretary William Hague last night joined a chorus of disapproval condemning a controversial referendum in the Crimea as a “mockery of proper democratic practice,” even as Russia claimed it had won a 95.5 per cent mandate for it to annex the Ukrainian province. President Obama’s spokesman said “the international community will not recognise the [...]
Vodafone seals £6bn deal to buy Spain’s Ono March 17, 2014 VODAFONE is expected to today announce that it has secured a deal to buy Spanish cable operator Ono with an offer that values the firm at around €7.2bn (£6bn). Ono is the second-largest provider of broadband internet, pay television and fixed services in Spain, a market in which Vodafone has seen a reduction in both [...]
Osborne announces a new garden city for Ebbsfleet March 17, 2014 CHANCELLOR George Osborne revealed yesterday that he will set up an urban development corporation to kickstart the first garden city in 100 years at Ebbsfleet in Kent, a project that will see 15,000 new properties built at the site. Ahead of his Budget statement on Wednesday, Osborne also announced that he will extend the Help [...]
Wishes and predictions for Osborne’s budget March 17, 2014 ■ EY suggests there is little room for the chancellor to make big changes, given the spending constraints he has set for the Treasury, and that the OBR’s adjustments will be small. ■ However, the big four accounting firm expects George Osborne to make a move on the top rate of stamp duty, raising the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 17 March 2014 March 17, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Big banks put forex bonuses on hold Barclays, Citigroup and Royal Bank of Scotland have frozen bonuses across swaths of their foreign exchange trading teams pending internal investigations into possible manipulation of key currency benchmarks. The cash and share bonus suspensions are targeted on the wider team rather than just the traders under [...]
New HS2 boss calls for major changes to plan March 17, 2014 THE NEW head of the controversial High Speed 2 railway has today urged the government to speed up work on the route and build a new northern hub by 2027, six years earlier than the scheduled completion date. After several months reviewing the entire project, HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins has set out his proposals [...]
Jimmy Choo steps towards £1bn flotation as London markets fly March 17, 2014 THE OWNER of luxury shoe designer Jimmy Choo is mulling plans for a £1bn public listing in London to tap the capital’s booming stock market. Bankers are understood to have approached its owners, Labelux, to explore plans to find external capital for the firm’s aggressive expansion plans, with an offering of about 20 per cent [...]
Peoples’ Bank of China relaxes control of market for renminbi March 17, 2014 THE PEOPLE’S Bank of China (PBOC) will today loosen the tight grip it keeps on foreign exchange of the yuan, after announcing plans to widen the band in which the currency is traded. The central bank will now allow the Yuan to be traded within a two per cent corridor of the official rate it [...]
Richard Desmond mulls Channel 5 float March 17, 2014 MEDIA tycoon Richard Desmond is considering a flotation of Channel 5 as an alternative to selling the station. Bidders are offering up to £700m for the broadcaster, which Desmond bought for just over £100m in 2011. But according to Sky News, Desmond is also working with Goldman Sachs bankers on a potential listing. Desmond, who [...]
Balls says bank salaries are a ponzi scheme March 17, 2014 BANKERS are running a “Ponzi scheme” and in a rational world would do the same job for half their current salaries, shadow chancellor Ed Balls said yesterday, calling for the reintroduction of Labour’s bonus tax. His remarks came after the business secretary Vince Cable was quoted in the Observer yesterday saying “I don’t understand why [...]