RBS exposed to Irish debt October 3, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland will be the biggest loser should the Ireland fail to repay its debts, it has emerged. The 84 per cent state-owned bank holds a staggering £3.3bn of Irish sovereign debt – more than any other UK lender – and the figure is set to rise even further. Industry sources defended RBS’ position, [...]
Banks may need fresh bailout October 3, 2010 Many British banks may need another state bailout next year and their borrowing requirements could hit £25bn a month, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) thinktank will say this morning. The NEF said it had examined Bank of England data and concluded that many UK banks appeared to face a funding cliff. UK banks have a [...]
Middle East, China boost PwC revenue October 3, 2010 ACCOUNTANCY giant PwC has seen revenues inch up 1.5 per cent in the past year, as booming demand from the emerging markets offset a slowdown in corporate activity and margin pressure from an aggressively competitive pricing environment. PwC will announce this morning that gross revenues hit $26.6bn (£16.8bn) across its global business in the year [...]
AIG cut Asian IPO to court investors October 3, 2010 AIG is understood to have lowered its valuation for the planned initial public offering of its Asian life insurance business, AIA, to secure a $1bn (£631.6m) commitment from the Kuwait Investment Authority and other cornerstone investors. American International Group is thought to have initially aimed to sell shares in AIA at a level that would [...]
IMF renews its call for bank levy and a revamp of global regulation October 3, 2010 THE International Monetary Fund has called for a new world system to dismantle troubled financial institutions and a levy on banks to pay for it. The IMF’s statement, released last night, comes ahead of meetings here this week among fund officials, the World Bank and leading nations’ finance officials. It urges better international regulatory cooperation [...]
Pensiveness is mood of the day for Tories October 3, 2010 POLITICAL EDITOR THIS shouldn’t be an annus horribilis for the Tories. For the first time in 13 years, their leader will address the party conference as Prime Minister. The long slog of opposition is, at last, over. And yet things are not quite right. Maybe the party should have gone to Brighton or Bournemouth this [...]
Middle class benefits set to be slashed as cuts begin October 3, 2010 THE Prime Minister yesterday hinted that “middle class” benefits like child support could be scaled back to pay for the biggest overhaul of the welfare state in 40 years. David Cameron signalled that some universal payouts wouldn’t be “affordable” if the government pursues root-and-branch reform of the benefits system. Cameron’s comments come after the Treasury [...]
Health and safety rules to be culled to save money October 3, 2010 THE government yesterday unveiled plans to scrap health and safety legislation that costs firms billions of pounds a year. Healthy and safety tsar Lord Young, the special adviser that helped Sir Keith Joseph usher in privatisation in 1979, said he would “sweep away tick-box bureaucracy that undermines personal responsibility”. And he announced plans to crack [...]
Premier Foods in talks to sell Quorn brand October 3, 2010 PREMIER Foods confirmed yesterday that it had received an approach for its meat-free brand Quorn. The UK’s largest food producer, whose brands include Hovis bread, Branston Pickle and Bisto gravy, promised in August to reduce its £1.4bn debt pile by £100m each year. The FTSE 250-listed group refused to name the suitor or asking price [...]
Centrica chairman Carr mulls role advising on defence cuts October 3, 2010 CENTRICA chairman Roger Carr has been approached by the government about taking a role on the board of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), as part of its plan to appoint business leaders to oversee efficiency drives across all Whitehall departments. A number of business grandees have already been sounded out about the roles by Lord [...]