Tories: we will limit tax on jobs March 28, 2010 THE Tories will today pledge to scrap part of Labour’s planned increase in National Insurance, City A.M. understands. In a move that will put the “tax on jobs” at the heart of the election campaign, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne will lay out a fully-funded plan to stave off the rise in employer and employee contributions [...]
Greece mulls bond issue March 28, 2010 GREECE is considering whether to tap the public debt markets in the next few days with a €5bn euro (£4.5bn) bond issue. This follows the EU’s decision to save the indebted nation with a last-resort rescue plan last week. A bond issue would help to tackle the country’s deficit, which stands at 12.7 per cent [...]
What Westfield tells us about UK Plc March 28, 2010 IF you want to understand what is happening to the economy, you could do worse than to check out the Westfield shopping centre in West London on a weekend. The place was packed to the rafters on Saturday afternoon, with long queues in front of every single one of the dozens of restaurants and cafes; [...]
Darling almost resigned March 28, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling has admitted he told Gordon Brown he would quit the government if he was demoted. The chancellor was set to be moved to another department in a cabinet reshuffle last summer, to make way for schools secretary and Brown ally Ed Balls. He told the Prime Minister that he would return to the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 28, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph OCADO TO HIT PROFIT IN TWO YEARS Ocado’s imminent plans for a £1bn stock market flotation have been given a boost after a detailed research note from an expert retail analyst firm said that the online retailer would be making pre-tax profits within “a two-year time frame”. The note said [...]
Glynn favourite for Ladbrokes March 28, 2010 Chairman of spread betting group Sporting Index Richard Glynn is poised to become the new chief executive of Ladbrokes. Barring any last minute hitches, Glynn will succeed Chris Bell who will step down this summer after 20 years at the company. Glynn is a former lawyer who led a management buyout of Sporting Index in [...]
Phoenix to acquire new funds March 28, 2010 Insurer Phoenix Group, formerly known as Pearl, plans to double its assets under management from its current £75bn. It plans to acquire a string of funds from other insurers, which could include Scottish Widows, Clerical Medical and Prudential.
Lloyds: We are staying put March 28, 2010 Lloyds last night categorically denied it has started a search for a new London head quarters. The Financial Times said it was eyeing a move after finding renewed confidence in its financial outlook. But a spokesman told City A.M.: “We are definitely not moving offices. There is not a shadow of doubt about it. Categorically [...]
Pru approves £20m bonus round for AIA March 28, 2010 BRITISH insurer Prudential is planning a multi-million pound bonus scheme to lock in executives at American International Assurance, the Asian business it is in the process of taking over. Prudential will rubber-stamp more than £20m incentivisation payments to AIA’s key staff after two senior figures, finance director Steve Roder and chief legal counsel Peter Cashin, [...]
Mandelson to create a Post Office bank March 28, 2010 LORD Mandelson will turn the Post Office into a “People’s Bank” if Labour wins the general election. Key to the initiative is a potential deal with RBS and Santander to allow the banks’ customers to access the new Post Office accounts, and its subsidised offers. Negotiations are underway as the government seeks to ensure at [...]