Up to five million could use new bank account switching service September 15, 2013 THE SEVEN-DAY switching service launched today could be taken up by millions in its first year, according to a new poll. The scheme is intended to boost competition in a sector that is traditionally dominated by a few small banks. According to the study from business analytics firm SAS, two-fifths of customers have been put [...]
Co-operative Bank investors attack plans for bail-in deal September 15, 2013 BONDHOLDERS in the Co-op Bank have accused the troubled lender of over-stating its losses in an effort to force them to take part in the planned recapitalisation. The Co-op Group is planning to put £1bn into the bank and for investors to inject another £500m in a bid to plug a black hole in the [...]
Glitches could lead Twitter to shun Nasdaq September 15, 2013 SOCIAL network giant Twitter is likely to favour a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) over the Nasdaq on the back of glitches and problems with the exchange that marred Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO). Confidence in the Nasdaq is low after the stock exchange has faced a spate of technical glitches in [...]
EU Commission to investigate Amazon’s Luxembourg tax deal September 15, 2013 ONLINE retailer Amazon could be dragged into the European Commission’s investigation into US multinational businesses with so-called sweetheart tax deals with national governments. The European competition authority launched its probe into the tax arrangements of these companies following the revelation that US companies were basing their taxable operations in Ireland for preferential tax arrangements. Last [...]
Bavarians give Merkel mixed results as national vote looms September 15, 2013 WITH only a week until Germany’s federal election, a regional vote in Bavaria saw better results than expected for the country’s main opposition party. The Christian Social Union (CSU), part of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, stormed to an expected victory with around half of the vote. But the region’s social democrats performed better than expected, [...]
Ofcom will take over delayed auction of 4G September 15, 2013 THE MINISTRY of Defence (MOD) will delay the sale of valuable 4G spectrum to mobile operators by two years as it hands over management of the sale to Ofcom, the MOD has announced. The minister for defence equipment, support and technology, Philip Dunne, quoted Ofcom’s experience in handling similar auctions as the reason for the [...]
France under pressure to make further cuts to meet its targets September 15, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Commission and rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) piled pressure on France yesterday to overhaul its finances more rigorously after the EU gave the Socialist government more leeway to meet targets. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici has said the Eurozone’s second-biggest economy cannot be reformed any faster, fending off criticism that it is [...]
Nuclear power backed by Lib Dem conference September 15, 2013 TURNING back on a long-term rejection of new nuclear power plants, the Liberal Democrats confirmed yesterday that they will now back the new generation of infrastructure. The party’s annual conference in Glasgow voted in favour of a limited support of nuclear energy for the first time yesterday. The Lib Dems have historically rejected [...]
Clegg slammed for slapping 5p tax on supermarket plastic bags September 15, 2013 NICK Clegg’s plan for a 5p charge on plastic bags was yesterday branded unworkable, as critics said the plan was a distraction that would be difficult to enforce. The Deputy Prime Minister announced on Saturday that the policy had won coalition backing to introduce the charge in England from 2015, in an attempt to cut [...]
Party targets no income tax for workers on minimum wage September 15, 2013 NICK Clegg yesterday said his party would seek to lift all minimum wage workers out of income tax if his party remains in power after the 2015 general election. The Liberal Democrat leader refused to set out guaranteed policy pledges at this stage but insisted “tax fairness” would be a key matter during negotiations in [...]