Osborne’s cuts are relatively modest October 14, 2010 IT is time for a reality check. The public spending cuts planned by the coalition only involve reversing, over five years, a small part of the enormous increase in expenditure which took place under Gordon Brown. This is highlighted again this morning by Tim Morgan of Tullett Prebon in A Shower, not a Hurricane: the [...]
Clarke warns on economy October 14, 2010 KEN Clarke yesterday said the British economy was “in grave danger of financial collapse”, in comments that are likely to annoy Number 10. Speaking to the Prison Governors’ Association, the justice secretary added: “We have rescued ourselves for the moment from being bracketed with the weaker brethren with doubts about our credit rating… but if [...]
NoTW moves behind paywall October 14, 2010 The UK’s best-selling Sunday paper News of the World moved behind an online paywall yesterday. The tabloid is the third News International title to charge readers to view content online in a bid to counter declining print sales, after the Times and Sunday Times websites were put behind the paywall in July. Only the NOTW [...]
Boris Johnson re-selected October 14, 2010 Boris Johnson was officially picked as the Conservative candidate for the 2012 London Mayoral elections yesterday. Incumbent mayor Johnson had already spoken publicly about his desire to run for re-election, and his official nomination was widely expected. He will now face Labour candidate and ex-mayor Ken Livingstone on the campaign trail. Johnson said after his [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIA CHIEF FAVOURS ORGANIC GROWTH AIA will address questions about its growth by increasing profitability and expanding organically rather than by pursuing acquisitions, according to the chief executive of the $30bn Asian life assurer about to list in Hong Kong. Mark Tucker told the Financial Times that AIA, which is being sold by [...]
Google beats forecasts as profits surge October 14, 2010 Google comfortably beat analysts’ sales and earnings forecasts when its third quarter results were posted yesterday. The world’s biggest search engine reported 32 per cent year-on-year growth in net income to $2.17bn (£1.37bn) and earnings per share, excluding one-time expenses of $7.64, up from $5.89 in third quarter 2009. Net revenue for the three months [...]
Bain Capital leading £1bn race to snap up the Priory October 14, 2010 US PRIVATE equity firm Bain Capital is the front-runner for the near £1bn deal for mental health specialist the Priory Group. Bain has not yet entered exclusive talks with the owners of the Priory, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), but is expected to do so within the coming days. The Priory operates more than 50 [...]
Barclays mulls new bond to boost capital October 14, 2010 BARCLAYS is working on a new debt instrument to shore up its capital base ahead of the introduction of the Basel III rules. A bond that would pay out less if the bank’s core Tier 1 capital ratio dropped below the Basel threshold of seven per cent is in the works. The instrument would differ [...]
Pension tax relief to hit high earners October 14, 2010 UP TO 200,000 high earners could be hit by the pension tax relief cut – 100,000 more than the coalition has estimated. The government yesterday announced it will slash the annual allowance on pensions tax relief from £255,000 to just £50,000. While experts say this will affect less that one per cent of the overall [...]
City complains of uncertainty October 14, 2010 THE City of London Corporation will criticise the government’s taxation of the City in a report published today saying the current tax regime is damaging to London’s competitiveness and that rival countries are introducing favourable tax measures to attract internationally mobile staff. The Corporation’s report says the huge number of recent changes to the tax [...]