Arrests in UK, Sweden and US after takedown of darknet marketplace Silk Road October 8, 2013 A total of four men have now been arrested in the UK over connections to recently suspended darknet auction site Silk Road. That resulted from investigations and seizures by the FBI. Arrests have also been reported in Sweden and Seattle. Three of those men are in their early 20s, and were arrested in Manchester. A [...]
Tax havens are finished says SocGen CEO October 8, 2013 Societe Generale, chief executive, Frederic Oudea has told French television channel BFM that the days where individuals and company's could channel money into secretive accounts in order to avoid tax are over. Oudea said on Tuesday: With all the reforms today that have been done by various governments, tax havens – that is to say [...]
Bank’s Tucker says stress tests will be more important October 8, 2013 The Bank of England's Paul Tucker has said that bank stress tests will become profoundly important, and that they must incoporate international scenarios. Tucker said that if you "have an overseas bank operating a massive branch that probably ought to be a subsidiary" and that if ever a central counterparty fails anywhere in the world, [...]
German factory orders fall unexpectedly in August October 8, 2013 German economic expansion falters with factory orders coming in at -0.3 per cent for August, missing the mark after expectations of a rise of 1.2 per cent, and following July's -2.7 per cent. The factory orders index includes shipments, inventories, and new and unfilled orders.
Shares up as dei Paschi cuts more staff October 8, 2013 The world's oldest bank, Italian Monte dei Paschi has seen shares surge following its announcement that it's cutting another 3,360 jobs, in order to receive €4.1bn in European aid. The bank's experience of a "more challenging macroeconomic scenario than the one initially expected" sees it evoke a restructuring plan as it continues to take steps to [...]
Nationalised rail company returns £208m to the taxpayer October 8, 2013 Directly Operated Railways has returned £208.7m to the taxpayer after a huge increase in revenues. DOR, a holding company setup by the Department of Transport, took over the running of the London-Scotland route four years ago. Turnover has increased 4.2 per cent to £693.8m, total ticket sales were also up by 4.2 per cent. It [...]
Rates for Help to Buy unveiled October 8, 2013 Mortgage rates for the controversial Help to Buy initiative have been unveiled. RBS announced that it would be offering two and five-year fixed rate contracts at 4.99 per cent and 5.49 per cent respectively. Halifax is offering a two-year fixed rate of 5.19 per cent. The governments scheme will see taxpayers on the hook for [...]
Bank of France lowers growth estimate to 0.1 per cent October 8, 2013 The Bank of France (BoF) has today lowered its growth forecast to just 0.1 per cent for the third quarter, bringing its prediction in line with the country's statistics office's forecast of a flat performance. The BoF 0.1 per cent is still slightly above INSEE's flat growth predication and full-year expectation of 0.2 per cent. [...]
Alcatel-Lucent to slash jobs in bid to reverse fortunes October 8, 2013 (Yahoo Finance) French phone manufacturer Alcatel-Lucent has confirmed it is to halve its business hubs worldwide, axing around 10,000 jobs by the end of 2015. The extreme cost-cutting plan, aimed at reversing the fortunes of the telecoms equipment maker, which has seen years of losses, will see 4,100 roles cut in Europe and 3,800 in [...]
Politicians to reject press self regulation October 8, 2013 It is likely that politicians will reject proposals for self regulation from the press, a source has informed the BBC. Conservatives and liberal democrats serving on the sub-committee of the Privy Council have said that the proposals brought forward by the industry were "flawed." The Privy Council is the body responsible for advising the Queen [...]