BUSINESS SUPPORTS TORY TAX CUT PLANS March 29, 2010 GEORGE Osborne’s plans to cut National Insurance yesterday met with a flurry of support from the business world, as the shadow chancellor clashed with his 11 Downing Street rivals in a live televised debate. Osborne used the morning of the Channel 4 debate against chancellor Alistair Darling and Liberal Democrat Vince Cable to launch his [...]
CITI SELL-OFF REAPS $9BN PROFIT March 29, 2010 AMERICAN taxpayers stand to nearly double their profit from the bailed-out Wall Street banks after the US Treasury said it would sell its entire stake in Citigroup yesterday. The US government will reap up to $8.8bn (£5.9bn) if it manages to offload the shares at yesterday’s opening price of $4.39, a four-month high. The profit [...]
CHANCELLOR CHALLENGE: WE RATE LAST NIGHT’S TV DEBATE March 29, 2010 ALISTAIR DARLING LABOUR Performance Darling gave a solid if uninspiring performance, adopting a reassuring tone that supported Labour’s “don’t wreck the recovery” theme. But he stuttered when pressed by his rivals, and adopted arguments and language that was probably too complex for the average viewer. 6/10 Content Having delivered his Budget last week, Alistair Darling [...]
George Osborne begins his fightback March 29, 2010 AT long last some red meat from the Tories. Their proposal for a partial cancellation of Labour’s national insurance tax hike is a small but important step in the right direction; it is good to see that they now want to pursue a dual strategy of deficit reduction combined with selected supply-side tax cuts. The [...]
Tories extend lead in polls March 29, 2010 THE TORIES have extended their lead over Labour after Alistair Darling’s Budget failed to impress voters, according to two opinion polls. A YouGov poll for the Sun puts the Tories seven points clear of Labour on 39 per cent (up two), with Labour unchanged at 32 per cent and the Liberal Democrats down one at [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG INVESTMENTS BOOST UK’S GREEN SECTOR The prospect of thousands of new “green” jobs in the UK as part of a drive for a low carbon economy came a step closer with two big investments in the environmental sector. Siemens, the German industrial giant, became the fourth wind turbine manufacturer to announce that [...]
Greeks raise €5bn in new bond issue March 29, 2010 GREECE raised €5bn (£4.49bn) by issuing a seven-year syndicated bond yesterday, days after agreeing a last-ditch bailout package with the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bonds were sold with a 5.9 per cent coupon and were listed on the Athens Stock Exchange. Alpha Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML), Societie Generale, [...]
S&P: UK faces downgrade after election March 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S credit rating could be downgraded if the government doesn’t take fierce measures to cut the deficit, Standard & Poor’s has warned. The rating agency said that the UK could lose its coveted ‘AAA’ rating if a strong fiscal consolidation plan isn’t put into place. “We expect to review the long-term rating and outlook again [...]
Lloyds throws weight behind Daniels amid succession talk March 29, 2010 LLOYDS Banking Group last night moved to quash speculation that chief executive Eric Daniels is about to be replaced. Talks of Lloyds hiring City head hunter JCA Group to draw up a short list of potential candidates was dismissed by the banking giant, which threw its weight behind Daniels. A spokesperson said: “Eric Daniels is [...]
Citi looks forward to state-free future March 29, 2010 CITIGROUP’S imminent exit from the shade of the US government’s protection is a symbolic development, analysts said yesterday. Having paid back a $20bn (£13.4bn) loan to Washington in December, Citi chief executive Vikram Pandit will be looking forward to a future without the shadow of state ownership hanging over the company. Recent reforms implemented at Citi [...]