‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
Rothschild hit by epic defeat February 22, 2013 BUMI co-founder Nat Rothschild yesterday suffered an embarrassing defeat at the coal miner’s EGM, with 19 out of 22 proposals for a board overhaul flattened by shareholders in a public City showdown after months of increasingly bitter exchanges. Rothschild, who arrived at the extraordinary meeting with his mother Lady Serena Rothschild, proposed last month ousting [...]
Competition body slams audit firms February 22, 2013 THE COMPETITION Commission will this morning find that the Big Four accountancy firms have too much control over the industry, and call for measures to encourage Britain’s largest companies to change auditor regularly to boost competition. In its long-awaited provisional report, the commission is expected to find no evidence of collusion, but will raise concerns [...]
Osborne faces £10bn hole in the UK public finances February 22, 2013 CHANCELLOR George Osborne is set to run a budget deficit £10bn or more larger than the £119.9bn predicted by the budget watchdog during the 2012-13 fiscal year, economists said yesterday. January’s public borrowing figures, released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), looked positive on the surface, analysts said, with a larger-than-expected surplus of £11.4bn, [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 22, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Brussels turns up pressure on Libor Banks and broker-dealers ensnared in the Libor-rigging scandal are facing fresh pressure to settle with Europe’s top competition authority as it expands the scope of its probes. In a speech on Friday in Paris, the EU’s competition commissioner will stress his determination to pursue the cases and [...]
ECB profits on its Greek bonds February 22, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) made €555m (£480m) in interest income from its Greek bonds, accounts showed yesterday, indicating the whole Eurosystem may have made several billion on the emergency purchases. That is expected to be divided up among the Eurozone’s national central banks, added to their own earnings and given to Athens. The ECB [...]
Miles: Print £175bn more February 22, 2013 BANK of England policymaker David Miles yesterday called for at least an additional £175bn of quantitative easing (QE), arguing it is the best way to help boost the economy. Miles believes there is a large output gap in the UK currently which could be reduced by printing more money, boosting demand and encouraging firms to invest more, increasing [...]
Einhorn pleads with investors on Apple vote February 22, 2013 BILLIONAIRE investor David Einhorn yesterday pleaded with fellow Apple shareholders to vote against the iPhone maker’s proposals to change its corporate practice. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital hedge fund, which owns around $600m (£394m) in Apple shares, laid out proposals that would see billions of dollars returned to shareholders. Einhorn said that despite the company’s history of [...]
Citigroup reveals pay shake-up as Corbat gets $11.5m for 2012 February 22, 2013 GLOBAL banking giant Citigroup yesterday introduced a new pay policy for top executives at the firm to more closely align salaries and bonuses with the bank’s performance. The move, revealed in a regulatory filing yesterday, follows shareholder concerns over payouts which led to the departure of former boss Vikram Pandit after shareholders rejected his pay [...]
Shard duo set to build tallest tower on earth February 22, 2013 THE LONDON-based construction duo behind the iconic Shard tower yesterday revealed their next building project – constructing the biggest tower on earth. Mace and EC Harris, who helped lead the construction of the imposing Renzo Piano-designed Shard, have been appointed to project manage the construction of the Kingdom Tower project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The [...]
BAE plans £1bn share buyback as profit stalls February 22, 2013 DEFENCE and aerospace firm BAE Systems yesterday launched an ambitious £1bn share buyback programme, as evidence of the “robust performance” of the FTSE firm. Chief executive Ian King said he could see “green shoots” in the company, which gave it the confidence to unveil the buyback, although full implementation still hinges on discussions with Saudi [...]