City firms back EU’s revamped insurance rules November 14, 2013 EUROPE’S biggest insurers yesterday hailed a crucial EU deal to introduce a new regulatory framework for insurers in Europe. The agreement, which follows more than a decade of wrangling over the policy, is set to introduce European-wide rules on how much capital insurers need to hold in proportion to their investments and policies. The rules, [...]
Ireland and Spain to go it alone as exit bailouts November 14, 2013 BOTH IRELAND and Spain yesterday said that they would exit their international bailouts within two and three months respectively, without further assistance. The Irish government will go without a precautionary line of credit as the €85bn (£71.21bn) bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) rolls to an end on 15 December. It has [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 15 November 2013 November 14, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Ofgem clashes with energy firms Network charges, identified by energy suppliers as a reason for inflation-busting price rises, are not going up as much as companies say, according to the UK’s energy regulator. Energy suppliers have blamed higher bills on rising costs in three areas: the wholesale energy they buy on international markets; [...]
David Miles fears enormous housing debts November 14, 2013 HOUSE prices are hitting such unaffordable levels that households should seek new ways of buying, in a bid to avoid taking on dangerously high levels of debt, the Bank of England’s David Miles said yesterday. He wants to see a range of shared equity products to leave home owners paying both a mortgage and some [...]
The Reuben brothers mull a £600m pay-out November 14, 2013 THE RUEBEN Brothers, owners of Global Switch, the largest wholesale carrier neutral data centre provider in Europe and Asia-Pacific, are contemplating paying themselves a £600m dividend following a credit ratings increase from Standard & Poor’s (S&P). The BBB rating with stable outlook from S&P relates to the resilience of the business, with S&P noting the [...]
US banks cut by Moody’s November 14, 2013 TOP US banks including JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs saw their credit ratings cut by Moody’s yesterday after the ratings agency recognised the US federal government is less likely to bail out firms in the future if they face financial difficulty. The long-term debt ratings of Goldman, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan were downgraded one [...]
Arcadia’s Philip Green sets up for a food fight November 14, 2013 SIR PHILIP Green is plotting to take on supermarkets and long-time rival Marks & Spencer by launching food outlets in up to 150 of his BHS stores. The retail tycoon said yesterday that he has drawn up plans for convenience food stores within BHS and will make a decision by the end of the year [...]
Goldman Sachs promotes 280 top staff to managing directors November 14, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs has named 280 employees who will be promoted to managing director this year, the second highest position at the investment bank. Managing directors at Goldman typically receive a base salary of $500,000 (£311,330), excluding bonuses, lower than the $900,000 paid to the firm’s participating managing directors – the highest position at the firm, [...]
Google defeats authors’ claims over copyright November 14, 2013 GOOGLE has succeeded in defending itself against publishers who claimed its scanning of millions of books was a case of copyright infringement. US judge Denny Chin dismissed the case brought against Google by the US Authors Guild, siding with the search giant’s claim that its actions were in line with fair use. The decision will [...]
Meagre growth for Eurozone as economies slow November 14, 2013 GROWTH in the euro area economies stuttered to an even slower pace in the third quarter, with a meagre 0.1 per cent expansion recorded, according to official figures released yesterday. The currency union’s GDP rose by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, and the region officially exited an 18-month recession, but the pace of [...]