Poll: vote for your dream chancellor March 9, 2010 THE next chancellor will have one of the toughest jobs in recent political history. With credit rating agencies warning they could strip the UK of its AAA rating unless the government acts quickly to cut the huge £178bn budget deficit, he will have to make the biggest public spending cuts in a generation. This is [...]
Tory lead shrinks by a point March 9, 2010 The Conservative lead narrowed yesterday as the party dropped three percentage points, according to a daily YouGov poll. Labour also lost support, falling two points. The Lib Dems soaked up most of the support, surging four points. The Tories are now on 36 per cent, Labour on 32 per cent and the Lib Dems on [...]
Shore sets sail for Guernsey March 9, 2010 Shore Capital will move to Guernsey in a bid to pay less tax and find a neutral base for its international business operations. Howard Shore, chairman and founder, said tax was not the driving motivation in the switch but was a consideration. The West End stockbroking house will move later this month. The move ties [...]
Obama fails to back Greek CDS proposals March 9, 2010 GREEK proposals to impose strict curbs on credit default swaps failed to gain solid support from the US yesterday. Prime Minister George Papandreou flew into Washington for crunch talks with President Obama in the hope of convincing him to back his controversial plans. Greece insists speculators betting against Greece by trading credit default swaps (CDS) [...]
Ferrous is planning a £2.7bn IPO March 9, 2010 Brazilian iron ore producer Ferrous Resources is in line for a London flotation worth up to £2.7bn. The company, which shelved a public offering in the wake of the financial crisis, could list as soon as May. The mammoth IPO would make it the highest-valued stockmarket debut since Mexican silver miner Fresnillo, which floated for [...]
Winterflood in court of appeal March 9, 2010 Market-maker Winterflood Securities attempted to overturn a ruling of market abuse against it and two of its employees at the court of appeal yesterday. The FSA said Winterflood and two employees, Stephen Sotiriou and Jason Robins, had “a pivotal role in an illegal share-ramping scheme”. Winterflood was fined £4m, Sotiriou £200,000 and Robins £50,000. The [...]
US CEO bonuses fell in 2009 March 9, 2010 US consumer, financial and technology companies slashed bonuses for their chief executives by more than half in 2009, a leading firm that tracks pay data said yesterday, as companies moved to more closely tie executive pay to performance. Equilar, which examines compensation practices, said preliminary data from corporate proxy filings show that the median CEO [...]
Revolt over new website ruling March 9, 2010 Internet and telecom companies in the UK have objected to plans that would force internet providers to block sites carrying pirated music and films. Firms such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Ebay claim the proposed amendment to the digital economy bill “threatens freedom of speech and the open internet”. They say the ruling, passed by [...]
Chinese loans drop in February March 9, 2010 Chinese banks extended about 700bn yuan (£68.2bn) in new loans in February, down from 1.39 trillion yuan in January, the official China Securities Journal reports today, citing unnamed sources. The slowdown came in part due to the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, the newspaper said.
Rose: Cut UK deficit as soon as possible March 9, 2010 SIR Stuart Rose yesterday said the next government should cut public spending sooner rather than later, in comments that appeared to back Tory plans. And the executive chairman of Marks & Spencer said consumers were well-prepared for a period of fiscal tightening to reduce the UK’s yawning £178bn budget deficit. “Our customers, Tesco’s customers, Sainsbury’s [...]