Yellen: Fed “does not have authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin in any way” February 27, 2014 Fans of Bitcoin may be suffering from some mixed feelings. Many love the cryptocurrency as unlike fiat money, such as the US dollar, it has no central bank. But the world's most important central banker, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, just gave the currency a great boost. During questions Yellen has just ruled out the [...]
Why the energy politicians are squaring up on ring-fencing February 27, 2014 Energy secretary Ed Davey faced a grilling from MPs in the House of Commons today on competition in the energy market, following regulator Ofgem’s new liquidity and transparency rules, which were published yesterday. Currently, the big six – that have both generation and supply arms – can sell themselves energy, which some smaller suppliers and Labour [...]
How one private equity firm’s giving Tilney another chance February 27, 2014 One of the UK’s oldest financial service institutions is back on the scene. RJ Tilney, which was founded in 1836 by brothers Robert and George, was a financial powerhouse in its native Liverpool back in the day but its name vanished in 2009 when German owners Deutsche Bank rebranded the company as Deutsche Bank Private [...]
RBS restructuring execs to have bonuses suspended February 27, 2014 Following some worringly poor results this morning, and raised eyebrows, given the bonuses still being doled out to staff, there's news this afternoon that RBS has suspended the payment of bonuses to executives of its Global Restructuring Group (GRG), reports from the FT. That's the unit alleged to have deliberately put small and medium-sized (SME) [...]
Hogan Lovells’ profit per partner tops $1.2m February 27, 2014 Profit per partner at Hogan Lovells increased by 10 per cent to top $1.2m (£720,000) last year, the City law firm said today, as both revenues and profits rose to record highs. Fees incomes increased by 5.2 per cent to $1.72bn in 2013, compared to $1.63bn in 2012, while revenues per lawyer were up 3.7 [...]
137 CEOs sign manifesto protesting EU energy policy February 27, 2014 137 CEOs representing EU manufacturing industry have put their name to a manifesto calling for major shift in the EU's energy and climate change policy. Published by the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC), the document called for an industrial renaissance to be at the heart of the strategy to move Europe out of [...]
Scottish independence is WPP’s new “grey swan” threat February 27, 2014 The “grey swans”, or known unknowns, are a regular feature of WPP’s results statements. Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising outfit said today that most of the recent global swans are becoming whiter, as Chinese fragility and the prospects for the Middle East become less of a worry. But the Scottish referendum has made an appearance as [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 27, 2014 US markets are expected to open lower today, following European counterparts that have remained cautious because of the worsening situation in Ukraine. The FTSE lost almost one per cent this morning, dragged down by struggling bank RBS, which has shed almost ten per cent. Janet Yellen’s due to speak to the Senate later today – [...]
The €400bn question: Will the Eurozone go for QE? February 27, 2014 A Eurozone quantitive easing (QE) programme is now anticipated by BNP Paribas, one of France’s biggest banks. It follows Fathom Consulting, which has been suggesting a similar scheme since January. BNP Paribas suggest the programme would be around €300-500bn (£246-410bn) – small in comparison to schemes in Japan, the UK and US, but a major [...]
2014 could see the UK’s first three parent baby February 27, 2014 The UK could allow a fertilisation technique which uses DNA from three people to create a baby without debilitating inheritable diseases by the end of 2014. The Department of Health (DoH) is launching a consultation on draft regulations to allow the technique, which involves the donation of healthy mitochondria to prevent mothers passing on mitochondrial [...]