DARLING: PAY SQUEEZE FOR STATE SECTOR July 5, 2009 ALISTAIR Darling has hinted at a public sector pay freeze to tackle Britain’s budget black hole. In response to Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred’s call for £5bn savings in wages, the chancellor said: “Public sector pay obviously has got to reflect prevailing conditions, and in particular inflation has come way down.” He said the [...]
Rover report gets delayed July 5, 2009 THE government is set to delay the publication of a report into the collapse of carmaker MG Rover in 2005, pending an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. The move, set to be announced by business secretary Peter Mandelson today, follows a four-year inquiry into the company’s collapse, which led to more than 6,000 job [...]
It would be mad to hike capital gains tax July 5, 2009 FOR all of Gordon Brown’s increasingly laughable attempts at dissembling on the matter, there is absolutely no doubt that public spending will have to be slashed after the general election, regardless of who wins. Alistair Darling said as much yesterday, and that was also the implication of the comments from John Hutton, the former defence [...]
Treves may stand as MP July 5, 2009 EQUITABLE Life chairman Vanni Treves may stand as an MP in the next general election, in a bid to force the government to accept the damning findings of an Ombudsman report into the life insurer’s failure. Treves is being urged to stand as an independent member of parliament by a group of Equitable policyholders, who [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 5, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphPRU ENSURES CHANGES TO CAZENOVE RESEARCHJP Morgan Cazenove has rewritten a piece of research about Prudential that initially made a string of adverse comments about the insurer’s accounting procedures. The research note is understood to have made disparaging remarks about reporting decisions taken by Tidjane Thiam, set to take over as chief [...]
Advertising to recover next year July 5, 2009 The global advertising downturn is approaching its lowest point and, after a fall of 8.5 per cent in 2009, the industry should recover mildly in 2010, according to a ZenithOptimedia report. The 2009 forecast was bleaker than an earlier prediction of a 6.9 per cent drop, as the first quarter came in worse than expected.
Chrysler completes new board July 5, 2009 Failed US automaker Chrysler has named the final five bosses on its board of directors. Chrysler, which emerged from bankruptcy last month by selling most of its assets to a group led by Italy’s Fiat Spa, named bosses including former Northwest Airlines head Douglas Steenland and Tristone Capital chairman and president George Gosbee.
Fund head probed over Madoff July 5, 2009 Former Austrian fund manager Sonja Kohn is being investigated by US, UK and Austrian prosecutors who believe she was paid over $40m (£25.5m) in kickbacks for ferrying funds to fraudster Bernard Madoff. They believe she was paid off while chairman of Austria’s Bank Medici, via separate firms she ran.
Rose believes activists will fail to deliver July 5, 2009 MARKS & SPENCER believes shareholder activists will not get the required 75 per cent vote in favour of a resolution at its AGM on Wednesday calling on the retailer to split the executive chairman role held by Sir Stuart Rose. The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), has filed a resolution for Wednesday’s shareholder meeting [...]
Sale of Northern Rock on agenda July 5, 2009 THE possibility of Northen Rock being prepared for a sale will be high on the agenda later this week when the government outlines its plans for the UK banking sector. Keen to improve the competitive environment in UK banking, the government is expected to open the door to the sale of Northern Rock to a [...]