US economy held hostage by shutdown October 9, 2013 FEARS over the potentially disastrous consequences of the US shutdown mean the Federal Reserve’s plan to slowly bring the economy back to normal have been put on ice. As Fed vice chair Janet Yellen was officially nominated by President Barack Obama as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, minutes from the American central bank [...]
Royal Mail share sale oversubscribed as 700,000 apply October 9, 2013 MORE than 700,000 individual investors have applied for shares in Royal Mail, Vince Cable announced yesterday, making the sale one of the most popular privatisations in British history. The Lib Dem business secretary also confirmed that the retail offer is seven-times oversubscribed, making it highly unlikely that would-be investors will receive their full allocation of shares. [...]
Britain leads Europe in cutting top rate of tax October 9, 2013 THE UK has cut the top rate of income tax by more than any other country in Europe, according to analysis from KPMG out yesterday. And the fall in the top rate from 50 per cent to 45 per cent means Britain has leapfrogged half a dozen other countries to move from the fifth highest rate in [...]
Watchdog gets trader emails in RBS FX probe October 9, 2013 THE CITY watchdog has been given emails and message records by RBS, relating to a probe into suspected foreign exchange market fiddling, it emerged yesterday. The Financial Conduct Authority is looking into the WM/Reuters benchmark, the latest to be studied in a series of probes covering indices including Libor. The RBS trader in question left his job at [...]
Fund criticises UK Help to Buy October 9, 2013 THE CONTROVERSIAL mortgage guarantee scheme rushed ahead to this week could inflate property prices, according to a leading figure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Jose Vinals, the IMF head of financial stability said that the housing market in the UK “is already recovering quite well”. On the Help to Buy scheme, Vinals added: “This [...]
Draghi claims euro progress October 9, 2013 SPEAKING at Harvard University, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi last night painted a rosy picture for the single currency. Referring to the progress seen in peripheral Eurozone countries as “staggering”, he added that some in the US “underestimated the depth of Europeans’ commitment to the euro”. Draghi also insisted that more co-ordinated fiscal policy [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 10 October 2013 October 9, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Outsourced contractors face blacklist Ministers will be able to blacklist contractors who provide substandard services for the first time under rules set to be ratified by the European Union within weeks. The government has been pressing for the measures in the wake of G4S’s failure to provide security guards at the Olympics and [...]
Vodafone tried Verizon merger ahead of deal October 9, 2013 VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao initially pushed for a merger with US firm Verizon Communications instead of selling its share in the jointly owned US wireless business, it was revealed last night. Documents filed last night by Verizon in New York also reveal Colao was instrumental in rejecting a $95bn (£59.5bn) offer eight months before finally [...]
Cable: Tax threshold helps poor more than Labour’s wage plans October 9, 2013 THE COALITION has helped shore up living standards by raising the income tax threshold to £10,000, Vince Cable will say this morning. The business secretary is hitting back at Ed Miliband’s claims the government has hit living standards. The Labour leader has struck a chord with voters by promising to freeze energy bills if he is [...]
British growth picks up speed in third quarter October 9, 2013 THE PACE of growth rose between July and September, above the robust performance seen in the second quarter, according to the forecast of a prominent economic research organisation yesterday. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has announced that they expect the British economy to have expanded by 0.8 per cent during the third [...]