Blair wants public-private co-op June 28, 2010 Tony Blair yesterday called for a flush of private sector talent to brush the cobwebs away from dusty Whitehall. The former Labour leader effectively backed a plea by Tory front-bencher Francis Maude to reinvigorate the policy-making corridors of power. Blair said rules limiting interaction between public and private employees, designed to prevent conflicts of interest, [...]
Shares gush for oil firms after big find June 28, 2010 PREMIER Oil, EnCore Oil and Nautical Petroleum saw their shares rocket yesterday after a North Sea oil find which has the potential to be one of the area’s biggest in a decade. The discovery at Catcher East, 110 miles east of Aberdeen, means the field is estimated to hold up to 300m barrels of oil, [...]
Sentance: Interest rates need to go up June 28, 2010 Britain’s tough Budget does not remove the need to start raising interest rates now, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance said yesterday. Sentance shocked markets last week when it was revealed that he had voted to raise interest rates by a quarter-point to 0.75 per cent, the first call for an increase [...]
Banks are still at risk but support packages must end, says BIS June 28, 2010 BANK profits cannot continue to rise at their current levels, according to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). The institution says the hike in earnings seen in the wake of the collapse is temporary and the sovereign debt crisis could weigh heavily on their bottom lines. They could also be hit by tumbling commercial property [...]
Commuters face rail fare hike in 2011 June 28, 2010 RAIL passengers could face a steep rise in fare prices next year, according to transport secretary Philip Hammond, who said that the existing pricing formula might not survive the tough autumn spending review. Fares are expected to rise by more than six per cent at the start of 2011 but Hammond has warned they could [...]
Cap on non-EU immigration is deeply worrying, say firms June 28, 2010 BUSINESSES are “deeply worried” about the government’s plan to introduce a permanent cap on immigration from outside the EU. Baroness Valentine, the chief executive of lobby group London First, said an arbitrary limit would run contrary to the claim that Britain is “open for business”. “Any talk of a cap is deeply worrying. London is [...]
Osborne’s VAT increase passes in Commons by 346 votes to 270 June 28, 2010 Chancellor George Osborne’s VAT hike was rubber-stamped last night as MPs in the House of Commons approved his plans by a margin of 346 to 270. VAT will now increase from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent on 4 January 2011. Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander defended the budget, saying [...]
BP boss calms Russian fears June 28, 2010 TONY HAYWARD, the embattled BP chief executive, yesterday launched a campaign to reassure top Russian officials of the group’s stability. Hayward, who met with government figures, is on a charm offensive to reassure the Kremlin over BP’s local operations. A number of concerns have been expressed by the country’s government over the future of the [...]
Relief well starts to close in on source of Gulf oil spill June 28, 2010 BP is one step closer to completing the first relief well in the Gulf of Mexico, putting the embattled firm’s efforts to stem the oil spill ahead of target. Drilling for the first of two wells came within 20 feet of the ruptured Macondo well yesterday – bringing BP closer to the leak than it [...]
WHAT WILL RESTORE INVESTOR CONFIDENCE IN BP? June 28, 2010 GREG SMITH | FAT PROPHETS “Asset sales will be key to restoring investor faith as will the appointment of Bob Dudley and the success of the relief wells. But it is a long road back to investor faith.” JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK & CO “More certainty is needed from BP over the leak and the [...]