Forth Ports knocks back £640m offer April 28, 2010 A CONSORTIUM of shareholders bidding for Forth Ports could walk away from a takeover after the Edinburgh-based docks operator shunned a sweetened bid worth £640m. Shares in Forth Ports surged eight per cent to £13.42 after the board unanimously said the £14 per share offer from Northstream fell “far short” of the company’s value. It [...]
Boots tops reputation poll as banks languish April 28, 2010 Alliance Boots knocked Marks & Spencer off the top spot, in a survey of company reputation. The Reputation Institute’s UK Pulse Report 2010 ranked retail brands highly but the list of 140 firms made torrid reading for the finance industry. Royal Bank of Scotland languished at 138, with Lloyds at 136 and Barclays at 129. [...]
Two banks face fines over poor complaint lines April 28, 2010 TWO British banks could be fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for mishandling customer complaints after the regulator published a damning verdict of lenders’ processes. The FSA would not confirm whether one of the institutions being “referred for enforcement” was 83 per cent state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, which said in February it was [...]
Osborne plans shake-up of bank sector April 28, 2010 THE TORIES will begin the “most radical overhaul” of the banking system in a generation if they are elected next week, George Osborne said yesterday. Speaking to an audience at the Institute of Directors yesterday, the shadow chancellor said he would start dismantling the Financial Services Authority (FSA) “within months” of taking office, replacing it [...]
Five reasons the Tories will win a majority April 28, 2010 FOR almost a fortnight, the polls have been stubbornly pointing at a hung parliament after 6 May. But the most likely result is a small, workable Tory majority. Here are five reasons why: 1) Gillian Duffy. Bigot-gate will come to define this election campaign, which has been pretty safe and dull so far. Not necessarily [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE THE MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES DOING ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN HOW THEY’LL CUT THE BUDGET DEFICIT? April 28, 2010 CATHERINE MULROY | DEUTSCHE BANK “I think the Conservatives are being clear about cutting the budget deficit but the cuts proposed by the Liberal Democrats simply don’t add up. Labour seems to be showing no interest and is simply avoiding the question.” CHRIS MORGAN | TOWERGATE INSURANCE “The parties need to say more, as they [...]
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 [...]