Ukraine agrees ‘truce’ after protest deaths February 19, 2014 THE PRESIDENT of Ukraine said last night that he had reached a “truce” with the political opposition in the country, after protests against the government turned to violence in Kiev this week. President Viktor Yanukovych said that he had brokered a deal for “negotiations aimed at cessation of bloodshed and stabilization of the situation in [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 20 February 2014 February 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Boomer bulge’ hits US jobs data The drop in the percentage of Americans at work in recent years is often cast as a story about the long-term unemployed who give up trying to find jobs. But declining workforce participation rates, which have sharply reduced headline unemployment calculations in the world’s largest economy, could [...]
EU leaders step up rhetoric on transaction tax February 19, 2014 THE FRENCH and German governments pledged to continue pushing for a new European financial transaction tax yesterday, following repeated setbacks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told journalists yesterday that progress on the issue ahead of May’s EU parliament elections “would be an important signal”. The European Commission had initially suggested that the tax should come into [...]
Signet buys American jewellery chain Zale in deal worth $1.4bn February 19, 2014 SIGNET, the jewellery company behind H.Samuel and Ernest Jones, has strengthened its foothold in the US after snapping up smaller rival Zale for $690m (£414m). Signet said yesterday it has agreed to pay $21.00 per share in cash, a 41 per cent premium to Zale’s closing price on Tuesday. The deal, including Zale’s debt of [...]
RBS pays £165m over mortgage sales in the US February 19, 2014 RBS SETTLED a class action case in the US yesterday, agreeing to pay disgruntled investors $275m (£165m) over mortgage-backed securities sold in the pre-crisis boom years. The bank also suspended a third foreign exchange trader this week as part of its internal probe into alleged abuse of the markets. Separately, RBS announced the sale of parts of [...]
Bank of America’s Moynihan gets $14m February 19, 2014 BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan’s compensation rose 17 per cent to $14m last year as profit at the bank more than doubled. Moynihan got about $12.5m in stock grants for 2013, according to a regulatory filing. He didn’t get a cash bonus, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter, quoted by [...]
Pets at Home to offer public bite at £1.5bn float February 19, 2014 PETS at Home, the UK’s biggest pet store, yesterday announced plans to offer shares to the animal-loving British public as part of its stock market debut next month. The company, which has 369 stores across the UK, said it intends to raise £275m through the initial share offering and use the proceeds to slash its [...]
Household finances on the up February 19, 2014 Families expect their financial position to improve over the next year, the first time Markit’s household finance index has reported a positive result. The study, which began in 2009, found the squeeze on incomes has eased in each of the past three months and households expect their position to start getting better soon. Markit’s forward looking [...]
Car production off to a good 2014 February 19, 2014 British car production dipped 0.3 per cent last month, as manufacturers almost matched the post-recession record output rate of last year. A total of 128,620 cars rolled off the production line in January, with 80.4 per cent of these vehicles exported. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which compiled the figures, said production should [...]
No vote on Bank guidance change February 19, 2014 No vote was called on the Bank of England’s changes to its forward guidance policy, minutes of its February meeting revealed yesterday. A dovish meeting re-emphasised the Bank’s commitment to loose policy. “Despite the sharp fall in unemployment, the committee judged that there remained scope to absorb spare capacity further before raising Bank rate,” it [...]