Coalition in big welfare shake-up July 29, 2010 IAIN Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, will today unveil plans to scrap all out-of-work benefits and replace them with a single payment, in what will be billed as the biggest welfare shake-up in decades. A so-called “universal credit” will replace the myriad of different benefits that are currently available, including housing benefit, jobseekers’ [...]
EU in push for market clarity July 29, 2010 EUROPEAN Union regulators proposed radical changes in the way the region’s securities markets operate yesterday so that investors have a complete snapshot of prices currently fragmented by fierce competition. Heavy lobbying by bourses for their new rivals to face the same tough rules as themselves appears to have paid off. In-house trading by big banks [...]
Flawed logic at heart of bonus rules July 29, 2010 JUST a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that governments would seek to regulate the way employees were paid by private firms. The recession changed all of this: it soon became the received wisdom that large banks deemed “too large to fail” should have their pay policies regulated by the state to make [...]
Moody’s profits beat Wall St expectations July 29, 2010 MOODY’S posted better-than-expected second quarter profit as demand for debt ratings picked up. Earnings rose to $121m (£77m) from $109.3m yesterday, while revenue of $477.8m, down from the first quarter but up six per cent from a year earlier. The rating agency was cautious about the outlook for its business, which faces a tough second [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES LI KA-SHING PAYS £5.8BN FOR UK UTILITY EDF of France is set to sell its UK electricity networks business to Cheung Kong Infrastructure of Hong Kong for £5.8bn, 45 per cent more than the price originally suggested for the deal, according to a person close to the negotiations. The state-controlled French electricity group [...]
Citi pays SEC $75m to clear subprime case July 29, 2010 CITIGROUP will pay $75m (£48m) to settle charges that it failed to disclose subprime exposure to investors in 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said last night. The SEC also charged former chief financial officer Gary Crittenden and Arthur Tildesley Jr, Citigroup’s former head of investor relations and current head of cross-marketing, making [...]
TalkTalk gets tie-up deal with Vodafone July 29, 2010 MOBILE provider TalkTalk has penned a deal with Vodafone unveiling a new mobile phone service targeting existing broadband customers under its own name. Vodafone and TalkTalk are expected to report the deal this morning, which is likely to add further competition to the mobile phone market. Under the agreement, TalkTalk will use Vodafone’s network to [...]
Clapham House shares rocket on bid approach July 29, 2010 BRITISH restaurant operator Clapham House said yesterday it received an offer approach, sending its shares up as much as 27 per cent. The owner of Gourmet Burger Kitchen and the Real Greek said there was no certainty that an offer would be made. The company, which operates 73 restaurants across the UK and 15 internationally, [...]
BP in Venezuelan asset sale talks with Russian JV July 29, 2010 BP IS currently negotiating a deal that could see it sell off some of its Venezuelan assets to joint venture partner TNK-BP. The Russian group, which is split between BP and a consortium of oligarchs known as AAR, is considering the South American purchase in a bid to pursue plans to expand internationally. Analysts estimate [...]
US plans offshore drilling vote July 29, 2010 The US Senate is planning to hold a procedural vote next Wednesday to test whether there is enough support to pass legislation clamping down on offshore oil drilling procedures and expanding alternative energy. If Democrats cannot get the necessary 60 out of 100 votes in favor of debating the legislation, they are likely to put [...]