Public sector must do more with less December 7, 2010 AN intriguing book has just dropped onto my desk (and no, I’m not referring to Gordon Brown’s massive self-justificatory opus, which I shall ignore for as long as possible). Called More with Less, it summarises the findings of one of the largest independent studies into public sector performance in the UK to date, conducted by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES FSA CHIEF WARNS ON BANK RULES Ensuring that the heads of failed banks face punishment would likely require a set of rules that held them to higher standards than other company directors, the head of the City watchdog has warned. Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, makes this argument while defending [...]
Stanford in drug plea December 7, 2010 BILLIONAIRE Allen Stanford, accused of leading a $7bn (£4.4bn) investment fraud scheme, is on so much medication he is unable to prepare for his upcoming trial, his lawyer said in a bid for bail. Stanford has been on drugs since a fellow in-mate attacked him in September 2009, which left him with concussion, brain injury [...]
BORIS FUND BREAKFAST CLUB MEETS AT SAVOY December 7, 2010 LONDON mayor Boris Johnson played host to a star-studded launch for the corporate sponsors of the charitable Mayor’s Fund for London yesterday morning, with grandees of the City treated to an 8am poached egg and salmon breakfast in return for their paid-up membership of the London Business Club – an organisation for fund donors. The [...]
Verizon may pay divi in 2012 December 7, 2010 Vodafone joint venture Verizon Wireless could pay a dividend in 2012, it emerged yesterday. But Verizon Communications is unlikely to consider a Verizon Wireless payout until late 2011, boss Ivan Seidenberg said. The lack of a dividend has been a bone of contention for shareholders of Vodafone, which owns 45 per cent of Verizon Wireless. [...]
Travelex in talks to sell December 7, 2010 Foreign exchange provider Travelex is understood to be in advanced talks to sell part of its business to US credit card giant Mastercard in a deal worth about £300m. Privately-owned Travelex is thought to be poised to secure the sale of its card programme management arm within days to fund growth plans and pay debt.
Google takes on Windows December 7, 2010 Web giant Google last night unveiled the first laptops running its Chrome operating system, designed to go head-to-head with Microsoft Windows, a market-leader for over thirty years. The software is designed for low-end “netbooks”.
Official: CDS didn’t cause Greek tragedy December 7, 2010 AN EU investigation revealed yesterday that trading in sovereign credit default swaps did not cause a spike in borrowing costs for states such as Greece this year. The report, commissioned by EU finance ministers in March, found “no conclusive evidence” that developments in the CDS market affected the cost of state borrowing. It praised the [...]
IMF boss slams Eurozone’s response to the debt crisis December 7, 2010 DOMINIC Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has launched a thinly-veiled attack on the Eurozone’s handling of the sovereign debt crisis. “The piecemeal approach, one country after another, is not a good one,” he said, as he called for a “more comprehensive solution to the problem”. Strauss-Kahn’s comments, which came after a [...]
Bondholders lobby Ireland over haircuts December 7, 2010 A GROUP of subordinate bondholders in Allied Irish, Anglo Irish and Bank of Ireland will lobby the Irish government to try to cap their losses. They have hired powerful US law firm Bingham McCutchen to represent their views to the government, although a source close to the group played down the threat of litigation last [...]