Slow growth: the UK’s fate for 2010 June 2, 2010 THERE are many problems facing the UK economy – inflation is far too high, the crisis at BP, which accounts for one pound out of every seven paid out in dividends in the FTSE 100, is trashing the stock market, while the belt-tightening about to be announced at the emergency budget will include destructive measures [...]
Tesco’s Leahy nets £5.2m June 2, 2010 TESCO’s Sir Terry Leahy received £5.2m last year in a mixture of salary and performance-related cash and shares. The remuneration of the retailer’s chief executive compares with £5.1m the year before and is part of a boardroom pay package worth £25m compared with £22.2m last year. Leahy’s basic salary was £1.4m. The pay bonanza comes [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 2, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ROLLS-ROYCE SPIRITS BUOYED BY GHOST Rolls-Royce says it will at least double its sales this year, thanks to the launch of its new Ghost model and a resurgance in demand for its high-priced cars around the world. Sales of the BMW-owned brand’s cars in China, where Rolls-Royce has seven dealerships, will for the [...]
Revenue contests footie debt rule June 2, 2010 Revenue & Customs has filed a writ against the Premier League in a bid to overturn the creditors rule. Under the rule, clubs coming out of administration must first settle football debts in full, while other creditors, such as Revenue, are paid later and often receive only a fraction of the sums they are owed. [...]
Traders clash over marketplace June 2, 2010 Traders clashed over the fragmentation and ultra high speed of US equities marketplace yesterday, as one charged that more traditional orders are being “gamed” but another said that high-frequency traders are unfairly vilified. The trading experts argued over what needs to be done to restore confidence after the Dow Jones industrial average mysteriously plunged some [...]
Bank’s King spurns 2.5pc salary hike June 2, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND governor Mervyn King has turned down his right to a 2.5 per cent pay rise in both 2010 and 2011 but his annual pay packet, including benefits, will still amount to £305,764, the central bank’s annual report revealed yesterday. This is over £30,000 more per year than the highest-paid civil servant, according [...]
Gunman kills 12 people in Cumbrian shooting rampage June 2, 2010 A GUNMAN shot and killed at least 12 people in Cumbria yesterday after a shooting spree in a number of small towns in the northwest region. The shootings, believed to be the worst the UK has seen in more than a decade, have also left 25 people injured, including three children who are critically injured. [...]
Economist Arthur Laffer slams proposals to raise cap gains tax June 2, 2010 ARTHUR Laffer, the celebrated economist who created the Laffer curve to show how dropping tax rates could result in increased revenue, has warned hiking capital gains tax (CGT) will cause an “inordinate amount of damage” to the UK economy. “Raising capital gains tax rates will reduce total capital gains; it will lower total profits; it [...]
Moody’s staff say bullied to give top rating June 2, 2010 FORMER Moody’s analysts say they felt pressure from bosses obsessed with market share to assign rosy ratings to risky debt products, while the company’s current chief executive defended the rating agency’s business model, according to testimony released yesterday. Three former officials at Moody’s described an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, according to prepared comments to [...]
Europe to crack down on credit rating agencies June 2, 2010 THE EUROPEAN Commission stepped up its efforts to crack down on credit rating agencies (CRAs) yesterday, by tabling legal amendments to the supervision and transparency of CRAs operating in the EU. The Commission also launched a public consultation on corporate governance, as part of its “final push” to reform financial services in the EU. Under [...]