Banks slam plan to shake up takeovers April 12, 2010 LABOUR manifesto proposals to make mergers between companies more difficult to complete came under fire from the City’s investment banking community yesterday. The government controversially said all takeovers – whether hostile or not – should require the approval of 66 per cent of shareholders rather than the current straight majority. It also said a “public [...]
City gives thumbs up to Tory proposals to scrap the FSA April 12, 2010 TORY plans to disband the FSA and hand its regulatory powers to a beefed-up Bank of England have been given a cautious thumbs up by our panel of City workers, although a significant minority still have doubts about the policy. The City A.M./PHI Panel, which has been specially recruited in conjunction with PoliticsHome.com to represent [...]
LABOUR MANIFESTO | AT A GLANCE April 12, 2010 ECONOMY • Secure the recovery by maintaining public spending this year, while growth is still fragile. • More than halve deficit by 2014 through economic growth, fair taxes and cuts to lower priority spending areas. • Cut structural budget deficit by more than two-thirds over next parliament. • Will not raise income taxes but does [...]
Conservative manifesto takes on big state April 12, 2010 THE Tory manifesto will be unveiled this morning at Battersea Power Station. The 130-page hardback document is titled “An invitation to join the government of Britain”. The key theme will be the stripping back of big government in favour of social mobility and personal responsibility. It will include: • A drop in the headline rate [...]
TIME BOMB April 12, 2010 A NATIONAL debt clock began a tour of the country yesterday, in a bid to put the disastrous state of the public finances in the spotlight. The 23-foot-long clock has been commissioned by pressure group the Taxpayers’ Alliance and has a figure that is ticking up at a rate of more than £5,000 a second. [...]
Henderson in talks to buy RidgeWorth April 12, 2010 FUND manager Henderson is back on the acquisition trail, confirming yesterday that it is in talks to buy up parts of US-based RidgeWorth Capital Management just a year after snapping up beleaguered rival New Star in the UK. Henderson is likely to pay close to $300m (£194.9m) for a chunk of RidgeWorth, part of US [...]
Consulting picks up after record slump April 12, 2010 MANAGEMENT consultancy work is already showing signs of picking up in the UK following the recession, a welcome respite for the £8bn industry after battling through its toughest year ever in 2009. Financial services, traditionally the most lucrative market for consultants, saw demand drop by 12 per cent during 2009, according to a report published [...]
US law firms see double revenue dip April 12, 2010 SIGNS of the damaging effects of the global recession on law firm business came as the top 10 US law firms with offices in London reported an average double-digit fall in financial figures for 2009. Often described as the bellwether for how the UK’s law firms will report finances for the year, US firms saw [...]
Rusal upbeat about aluminium demand April 12, 2010 RUSAL, the world’s biggest aluminium producer, said yesterday it expects the aluminium market to improve this year with the global recovery, prompting it to boost production and restart a mothballed plant. The Russian firm, which raised $2.2bn (£1.4bn) when it became the first non-Asian company to list in Hong Kong earlier this year, posted a [...]
GM SEES LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL April 12, 2010 General Motors expects to report “solid” operating results for the first quarter, which will show progress towards its goal of returning to profitability in 2010, chief executive Ed Whitacre (left) said yesterday. A profit in 2010 would end a five-year streak of losses and mark a turnaround for the US carmaker, which emerged from a [...]