Watchdog boss accepts blame for insurance mess March 31, 2014 CITY watchdog chief exec Martin Wheatley yesterday said he accepts responsibility for the sloppy announcement of a new insurance investigation last week. The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into the fees and charges faced by savers with insurance policies dating back to the 1970s. And when this was inadvertently released through a newspaper on Friday, [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 01 April 2014 March 31, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES US overseas cash pile rises to $947bn American companies have stockpiled nearly a trillion dollars of cash offshore to avoid paying higher tax bills at home, according to an analysis released yesterday. The growing overseas cash pile has also become the most visible sign of corporate America’s unwillingness to place bigger bets on [...]
Yellen pledges easy money March 31, 2014 US MARKETS jumped yesterday after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said the Fed will keep providing “extraordinary support for the recovery for some time to come”, pulling back from her previous remarks on hiking rates. Yellen’s dovish comments implied the Fed will keep supporting the economy for some time, as she admitted that there is still [...]
Diamond buys African bank March 31, 2014 EX-BARCLAYS boss Bob Diamond yesterday bought his way back into the banking sector in a $265m (£192.3m) deal to buy an African bank. Diamond’s shell firm Atlas Mara snapped up a majority stake in BancABC, a Botswana-based lender with operations across the continent. It is also buying the ADC African Development Corporation. “Our objective is to [...]
Brit opts for UK return after its four-year exile March 31, 2014 BRIT, the Lloyd’s of London insurer that has just listed on the stock market, has moved its headquarters back to London from the Netherlands in a boost to the Treasury’s plans to attract more companies to the UK. “The group’s focus on the Lloyd’s market, together with the UK’s positive approach to the insurance sector, [...]
Regulators step up probes into currency fixing March 31, 2014 COMPETITION authorities in Switzerland yesterday took their probe into alleged foreign exchange market manipulation to the next level, opening investigations into eight banks. The banks are spread across Switzerland, the UK and US, and the move represents the latest step by a range of global regulators to get to the bottom of claims of market [...]
Foster + Partners building up its order book after a tough year March 31, 2014 ARCHITECTURE group Foster + Partners has said business is picking up after a tough year in which earnings fell by almost a fifth. Norman Foster’s practice is hiring staff worldwide as it anticipates “record levels of new work” in the coming year, with an order book now totalling £270m. Foster + Partners is currently working [...]
Osborne: We’re committed to full employment March 31, 2014 CHANCELLOR George Osborne yesterday committed to “fight for full employment”, arguing that tax cuts would boost the labour market. Describing “full employment” as the highest employment rate in the G7, the chancellor emphasised welfare and education reforms, as well as lower taxes on businesses as ways to achieve the goal. However, Osborne attacked plans “past [...]
Office dilemma: The golden rules for sacking staff March 31, 2014 The experience is never pleasant, but there are ways to soften the blow IT TURNED out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me,” Steve Jobs once remarked. Unfortunately, not all employees will put Jobs’ positive spin on getting the sack. And the experience is little better [...]
Blinkx hits back at professor’s damning blog March 31, 2014 Chief exec Brian Mukherjee tells Oliver Smith that accusations about the tech company’s past are unfounded BLINKX, the online video advertising firm that saw its share price plummet in January on the back of a critical blog post, was attacked by an “infamous professor” using the “bully pulpit” of Harvard University for personal gain, its [...]