Watchdog says it was right to approve Paul Flowers January 7, 2014 THE OFFICIAL who gave the green light to Paul Flowers’ appointment as Co-op Bank chairman in 2010 yesterday denied he had done anything wrong and maintained it was the right decision. Flowers oversaw the near-collapse of the bank when regulators last year discovered a £1.5bn capital hole. Clive Adamson admitted it was clear in his [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 8 January 2014 January 7, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UBS and Credit Suisse to pare back Switzerland’s two largest lenders are prepared to scale back their investment banking operations further if the country’s strict capital rules become even more onerous, their chairmen have said. UBS and Credit Suisse have made cuts of different magnitudes to their investment banks, but a heated political [...]
Moody’s warns about return of risky debt notes January 7, 2014 RATING agency Moody’s yesterday said a resurgence in weak companies issuing controversial credit notes, made popular in boom-era deals, threatens to drive up risk in the financial system this year. Payment-in-kind (PIK) notes – an aggressive type of loan which pays interest in more debt rather than cash – doubled in issuance last year to [...]
RSA says Ireland issue isolated January 7, 2014 Insurance group RSA announced yesterday that it believes its £200m capital hole is confined to its troubled Irish arm, promising to disclose more detail tomorrow. The firm was commenting on a PwC report it commissioned last year, which determined that the capital hole was an “isolated incident” that did not reflect on the group more [...]
Mitsubishi and UBS launch fund January 7, 2014 Japanese auto group Mitsubishi announced yesterday is has partnered up with Swiss bank UBS to launch a real estate debt fund in the UK. The venture will begin with a £140m investment, but aims to broaden its scope to other countries, aiming for a £500m fund. It is not the first time the two corporate [...]
No Microsoft move for Mulally January 7, 2014 Ford CEO Alan Mulally announced yesterday that he has no intention of leaving his job at the end of the year, after continued speculation that he would replace outgoing Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer, who announced his retirement in the summer. In an interview with the Associated Press, Mulally confirmed that would not be moving to [...]
London skyline gets a £1.2bn Chinese fortune January 7, 2014 CHINESE state-owned Greenland Group has made its first foray into the UK market with a £1.2bn swoop on two major London developments – which could see it build the tallest skyscraper in Canary Wharf. The property giant yesterday signed a deal to buy developer Minerva’s Ram Brewery, a historic seven acre site in Wandsworth claimed [...]
No benefits for immigrants for five years – Ukip January 7, 2014 NIGEL Farage has called for a ban on immigrants receiving benefits in the UK until they have been resident for at least five years, extending the current three-month period during which they cannot claim. The Ukip leader added that preserving British society and creating jobs for young people are more important than boosting GDP. “The [...]
Drop in oil imports by US drives trade deficit back to 2009 level January 7, 2014 THE US trade deficit fell to a four year low during November, as higher shale gas production helped to hold down the country’s demand for imported energy. With a negative balance of $34.25bn (£20.88bn), the gap between imports and exports is smaller than at any time since October 2009. Exports hit $194.9bn in December, the [...]
HSBC plans share payments in response to Brussels’ bonus cap January 7, 2014 TOP STAFF at HSBC will receive quarterly payments of shares as part of their salaries, it emerged yesterday, as part of a plan to pay employees within the EU’s new bonus cap. The bank wants to pay some employees mainly in bonuses so it can vary pay easily depending on performance and can claw back the [...]