Tell us who wins tonight’s leaders’ debate April 28, 2010 THE LAST leaders’ debate will be screened on BBC1 tonight, with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg going head-to-head on the economy. We’re teaming up with PoliticsHome.com to find out who you think should be crowned winner. We’ll be sending a survey out to all panellists at around 9.30pm, asking them to give all leaders a grade [...]
Scots Nationalists lose appeal April 28, 2010 The Scottish National Party (SNP) has lost a last-ditch appeal to appear in tonight’s leaders’ debate on the BBC. The party had raised £50,000 via supporter donations to bring legal action against the BBC, but lost its appeal in the Court of Session in Edinburgh. The SNP brought the lawsuit after the BBC Trust rejected its [...]
Labour focuses on crime April 28, 2010 “We are the party that’s tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime,” Gordon Brown said yesterday, attacking the Tories and Lib Dems over their opposition to CCTV and plans to rollback parts of the national DNA database. Earlier, Alan Johnson described Tory ‘broken Britain’ claims as “claptrap” based on “fundamental deceit”.
Swiss to treat bonuses as a taxable profit April 28, 2010 Switzerland unveiled plans to make bankers’ bonuses less tax-friendly, aiming to appease political parties calling for pay restraint and win backing for a deal ending a US tax case against UBS. The Social Democrats, who could make or break UBS’s US tax deal in a parliamentary vote in June, said the proposed measures, to apply [...]
Solid first quarter boosts private equity hopes April 28, 2010 IT is not all doom and gloom for private equity. That’s how one senior private equity partner described the current outlook to me over breakfast earlier this week. Yet it is an argument that has seemed without foundation during the early part of 2010, which in terms of both the number and value of deals [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 28, 2010 HSBC Private Bank The private bank has appointed Daniel Ellis as a managing director and head of the private bank investment group for the UK and Channel Islands, based in London. Ellis is currently head of structured products for HSBC Private Bank Suisse, having joined the group in 2001 to help build the ‘over the [...]
Top private equity firms rule industry April 28, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs Principal Investment Area has leapfrogged rivals TPG, KKR and Carlyle to take top spot in this year’s ranking of the world’s leading 300 private equity firms produced annually by Private Equity International magazine. The report, which ranks firms in terms of the amount of direct investment capital each has raised over a five-year [...]
Ex-trader on FSA insider deal charges April 28, 2010 A former hedge fund trader yesterday become the latest victim of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) clampdown on insider trading. Anjam Ahmad, has been charged with conspiracy to commit insider dealing relating to allegations of trading in 22 different shares between June and August 2009. It is alleged he made trades while in possession of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 28, 2010 LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Seymour Pierce reiterates its “sell” rating on Lloyds Banking Group despite the bank reporting an upbeat first quarter and updated 2010 forecasts. But, Seymour Pierce says that at the current rate of deposit growth, it will take until 2020 before its loans to deposit ratio falls back to below 1.0. PREMIER FOODS [...]
Aim market enjoys new listings revival April 28, 2010 INITIAL public offerings on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) showed tentative signs of a recovery in the first quarter of the year, after listings all but dried up on the junior market during the crisis. A total of 16 firms joined Aim in the first quarter of 2010, compared to just five in the same [...]