Tomlinson named as NAPF head June 16, 2009 Lindsay Tomlinson, European vice chairman of soon-to-be-sold Barclays Global Investors, has been named as chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). Tomlinson is set to take over from Chris Hitchen whose two-year term expires in October. Lindsay, awarded an OBE for services to fund management in 2005, will have to tussle with rising [...]
BORIS: ORGY OF CITY BASHING MUST STOP June 16, 2009 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday leapt to defend the financial services industry, arguing that politicians and the City needed to be “far more vociferous” in opposing regulations dictated by the European Union. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) annual summer lunch, Johnson said: “It is crazy that we are so passively and supinely [...]
Wheatcroft to edit WSJ Europe June 16, 2009 Patience Wheatcroft, the former Sunday Telegraph editor and Times business editor who left journalism in 2007 to take seats on the boards of Barclays and Shaftesbury, has been named editor-in-chief of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Europe. Wheatcroft, who last year chaired Boris Johnson’s Forensic Audit Panel, has quit her non-exec role at Barclays to focus [...]
Outrage as telephone tax looms June 16, 2009 MILLIONS could be hit by a new “telephone tax” under government plans to fund broadband for all. Lord Carter’s long-awaited Digital Britain Report, published yesterday, outlined plans to slap a £6-a-year levy on households with a telephone line to help pay for universal broadband access. The TaxPayers’ Alliance last night said it was “inappropriate” to [...]
Britain needs a real digital revolution June 16, 2009 YET another wasted opportunity: that must be the verdict on the government’s ludicrously over-hyped Digital Britain report. Neither of the two main relevant public policy issues was addressed satisfactorily: the quality of Britain’s communication infrastructure, which is scandalously poor; and the BBC’s destructively anachronistic dependence on the taxpayer. Our broadband and telecoms systems are not [...]
Iran in protest blackout June 16, 2009 PROTESTORS took to the streets of Iran again yesterday, as the nation’s top legislative body stood by a disputed president poll that claimed incumbent premier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won by a landslide. But a ban on reporting from the streets of Iran, and arrests of protest ringleaders, meant any further clashes were kept off the world [...]
Insider dealing three in court June 16, 2009 CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday hauled two lawyers and a former finance chief into court, amid its “be afraid” crackdown on fraud. The FSA accused Andrew King, formerly finance head of Manchester-based Neutec Pharma, of disclosing inside information about the company to lawyer Michael McFall ahead of last Wednesday’s takeover of the [...]
Rio stung with $625m costs for rights issue June 16, 2009 MINING giant Rio Tinto now faces $625m (£382m) in costs over its $15.2bn rights issue, which came after its bid to raise money from Chinese state-owned mining group Chinalco collapsed. Investment banking giants including Morgan Stanley will walk away from the deal $430m better off, after Rio already had to pay a $195m break fee [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS IN DEBT TALKSNational Express is in talks with bankers to renegotiate terms on part of its £1.2bn debt amid fears that the bus and rail operator will breach loan conditions in December. The group is expected to pass a key test of whether it is meeting the terms of its debt [...]
SIMON MACKENZIE-SMITH June 15, 2009 Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are the joint bookrunners and sponsors of Punch Tavern’s fundraising, which is subject to approval at the company’s annual meeting in July. Merrill Lynch’s head of UK corporate and investment banking Simon Mackenzie-Smith is the client relationship manager for Punch Taverns. He represents a team that is lead by [...]