UK insolvency down as business picks up July 18, 2010 INDICATIONS that the UK’s business community is starting to stabilise have come from new data that shows the number of company insolvencies in June has declined by more than 13 per cent from last year. Information from data services group Experian shows that 1,771 UK businesses failed last month down from the 2,044 that became [...]
Finance sector must highlight its contribution July 18, 2010 AT a time when spending cuts, tax increases and unemployment dominate the headlines, leaders of the UK financial services industry face an unprecedented challenge getting their message across to the public and politicians. Of course, we must recognise the real anger that continues to exist as a result of the mistakes made – not only [...]
Water firms get £3.4bn EU loans July 18, 2010 The EU plans to lend the UK’s 10 biggest water utilities €4bn (£3.4bn) over the next five years, as they try to reduce the number of customers who cannot pay their bills. UK water companies including United Utilities and Severn Trent can take out cheap loans from the European Investment Bank to help reduce “water [...]
Donations drop by nearly 10 pc July 18, 2010 The austerity mindset has dented charitable donations this year, says research by Investec. Hard-up workers are giving 9.6 per cent less than a year ago, with almost a quarter admitting to reducing their donations. Londoners have dropped their donations by 9.2 per cent. People aged 34 to 44 are most reluctant to part with their [...]
SUMMER’S SET TO SIZZLE AS CITY’S GOT TALENT MAKES A COMEBACK July 18, 2010 IT’S SUMMERTIME, and if you’re looking for a ray of sunshine to penetrate the daily grind of City life, look no further. Regular readers of this column will remember last year, when The Capitalist whipped the financial world into a frenzy with a rundown of the top ten hunkiest gentlemen and loveliest ladies the City [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK July 18, 2010 IT’S OFF the beaten track for this week’s bill, racked up by six businessmen celebrating a deal with a short but sweet trip to Malta’s luxury boutique hotel The Xara Palace – frequented by famous faces such as Brad Pitt and Roger Moore. Our lucky travellers headed to the hotel’s award-winning De Mondion restaurant, where [...]
HISTORIC FINANCIAL REFORM BILL PASSED July 15, 2010 US LAWMAKERS last night passed a landmark financial reform bill allowing the broadest overhaul of rules governing America’s largest financial institutions since the 1930s. The Senate approved the bill by a 60 to 39 vote last night and will now send it to President Barack Obama to sign into law next week. The bill, which [...]
Obama’s reforms at a glance July 15, 2010 SYSTEMIC RISK A council of regulators chaired by the secretary of the Treasury would be created to monitor big-picture risks in the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council could identify firms that threaten stability and subject them to tighter oversight by the Federal Reserve. The Fed and the council could break up firms that [...]
Some good bits – but lots of bad stuff July 15, 2010 SO there you are: President Obama has finally got his Wall Street reform bill, a gargantuan, 2,315-page piece of legislation over which politicians and lawyers will argue for years. As we explain on page 1 and below, there is a huge amount of detail in the final version, with rules governing everything from investment banks [...]
US reform bill could have impact on UK July 15, 2010 SWEEPING changes to the US financial regulation landscape could effect the UK, argued lawyers yesterday. While it remains unclear what kind of knock on effect the bill will have on the UK, some London lawyers were last night predicting a flood of financial bodies would move operations from New York to the City. “US banks [...]