Larry Summers quits Fed race September 15, 2013 LARRY Summers, the leading US economist, last night spectacularly withdrew from the race to become the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. The move sent shockwaves through the financial markets, pushing down the dollar. Summers had been widely seen as President Barack Obama’s likely favourite, but had recently come under intense criticism, with over 400 [...]
UK head of Credit Suisse to oversee bank sales at UKFI September 15, 2013 THE SALE of the government’s stake in Lloyds and RBS will be led by the UK boss of Credit Suisse, the Treasury will announce this morning. James Leigh-Pemberton, who has led the British arm of the Swiss investment bank since 2008, will join UK Financial Investments next month, taking over from outgoing chief executive Jim [...]
Cable sets out plans for new director ban September 15, 2013 VINCE Cable will today announce new policies to punish company directors who step out of line, in a move his aides admit is partly targeted at the financial sector. The business secretary will tell the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow that company directors who have been banned in foreign countries will be automatically barred from [...]
Liberal Democrats split on state of the UK economy September 15, 2013 A MAJOR split over the economy among Liberal Democrat ministers was laid open last night, with Nick Clegg and Vince Cable revealing tension at the highest levels of the party. Deputy Prime Minister Clegg rubbished business secretary Cable’s idea of restricting the second part of the Help to Buy scheme – which will see [...]
Surge in women on bank boards after credit crisis September 15, 2013 BRITISH banks have almost doubled the proportion of women on their boards in the past six years, according to research out today from recruiter Astbury Marsden. Twenty per cent of board directors are now women across the top five biggest UK lenders, up from 12 per cent in 2007. That is the same level as [...]
Coalition urged to dig deeper on infrastructure September 15, 2013 BUSINESSES want the government to work harder on getting big infrastructure projects off the ground, a poll of more than 500 firms out today shows. Company bosses are losing confidence in the coalition’s ideas for upgrading roads, railways and energy networks, with just 35 per cent now believing the upgrades will have a positive effect [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 16 September 2013 September 15, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Diamond calls for bank shake-up Bob Diamond – the former head of Barclays who tried to buy Lehman Brothers before its collapse five years ago – has joined a chorus of criticism over the lack of progress in ending banks’ “too big to fail” status. Citing “insufficient” progress in ways to safely wind [...]
Top companies add £40bn to cash mountain September 15, 2013 THE UK’S biggest companies have increased the piles of cash on their balance sheets by more than £40bn since the start of the financial crisis – enough to cut the UK’s annual deficit by a third, fresh figures out today show. The wall of cash retained by firms in the FTSE 100, excluding banks, has [...]
Small firms’ confidence soars as the recovery takes hold at last September 15, 2013 THE RECOVERY means most London firms expect to be able to grow in the next year, while hiring is up across the country as confidence rises, according to two studies. Small firms in the capital are at their most confident ever, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Its confidence index shot up to [...]
Accountants predict robust UK growth to bounce back in 2014 September 15, 2013 AFTER good growth figures were revealed for the second quarter, a major group of accountants has raised its growth forecast for the UK, citing the strongest business confidence since 2010. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) announced today that it expects 2.3 per cent growth next year, after 1.5 per cent [...]