Cable: We won’t stop bid for BP July 12, 2010 THE UK government can do very little to stop a takeover of BP, business secretary Vince Cable told City A.M. yesterday, as suggestions of a large scale approach for the embattled oil major intensified. Cable said that under the Enterprise Act of 2002, the UK government only had a narrow window to intervene and that [...]
Germany’s bonds in EU stress tests July 11, 2010 THE most dramatic stress scenario for tests being applied to European banks envisages write-downs of 2.3 per cent on German government bonds, 20 per cent on Greek sovereign debt and between five and 11 per cent apiece in the case of other periphery Eurozone countries such as Portugal and Italy, reports suggested yesterday. The “shock” [...]
Ocado hits back at critics July 11, 2010 OCADO’S advisers reacted furiously last night to suggestions its £1bn flotation may be in trouble. The firm spoke out against a number of high-profile fund managers it claims are attempting to undermine the pricing of its IPO. The float, in which the grocery delivery firm hopes to raise £200m, appears to be on a knife [...]
High electricity prices to hurt growth July 11, 2010 HERE is another reason why the recovery will be muted. Gas and electricity costs will rise substantially in the years ahead and are set to hammer not only consumers but also manufacturers, further eroding their competitiveness and that of Britain as a place to do business. It is not market forces that will push up [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA BANKS FEAR FALLING CONFIDENCE Faltering confidence in the Chinese economy could threaten the plans of the country’s banks to shore up capital reserves, the head of China Construction Bank, has warned. On top of the projected $22bn initial public offering of Agriculture Bank of China, announced last week, CCB and Industrial and [...]
Kleinwort case is settled July 11, 2010 A legal battle between Commerzbank and a former Kleinwort investment banker over the use of the Kleinwort name has been settled. According to a Financial Times report, Commerzbank – which sold Kleinwort Benson in June – issued a High Court lawsuit against former Kleinwort banker Robert Pasley-Tyler, claiming he had infringed the Kleinwort name. Kleinwort [...]
Japan’s ruling party rebuked July 11, 2010 Japan’s ruling party, mauled in yesterday’s upper house election, faces an uphill struggle to win new allies to back its policies to cut back huge public debt and probably bitter infighting over whether the premier should quit. Voters dealt Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Democratic Party of Japan a stinging rebuke in the election, depriving the [...]
Osborne faces pressure over fiscal monitor July 11, 2010 CHANCELLOR George Osborne will come under pressure to increase the independence of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) when its head, Sir Alan Budd, is grilled by an influential body of MPs this week. The Treasury Select Committee is expected to ask Budd, who is due to step down as chairman on 19 August, whether [...]
Clegg drove final nail in Brown coffin July 11, 2010 NICK Clegg, the LibDem leader, finally saw off Gordon Brown’s hopes of clinging to power in the wake of the hung parliament by demanding he resign before any Lib-Lab deal was agreed. This and other revelations in Lord Mandelson’s upcoming memoirs have caused a rupture in the Labour party, with leadership hopeful Andy Burnham accusing [...]
IFS director Robert Chote in the running for OBR chairman role July 11, 2010 DIRECTOR of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) Robert Chote is a strong candidate to replace Sir Alan Budd as chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The former journalist began his career as a reporter and columnist at The Independent before moving to the Financial Times to take up the position of economics [...]