Congress votes to extend US borrowing limit January 23, 2013 THE US House of Representatives yesterday passed a Republican plan to allow the federal government to keep borrowing money until mid-May, after the top Senate Democrat and White House endorsed it. The vote in the Republican-controlled House drew the opposition of 111 Democrats, many of whom labeled it a negotiating gimmick that would set up [...]
Murdoch scores with footie deal January 23, 2013 RUPERT Murdoch’s News International has snapped up the rights to show online highlights of Premier League football games. The three-year deal, which begins at the start of the 2013-14 season, means that News International’s news outlets – the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times – will be able to show Premier League highlights on [...]
FSA’s Libor probe gathers speed January 23, 2013 THE investigation into interdealer broker Icap in connection with Libor rate rigging has intensified, a source close to the probe confirmed last night. Seven of the estimated 50 staff working on the Libor probe for City watchdog, the FSA are now focusing on Icap. Icap, founded by Michael Spencer, said last year that it had [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 23, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES GMG ends talks to sell Trader stake Guardian Media Group has called off talks with interested buyers over the sale of its half stake in the car classifieds company Trader Media Group following a failure to agree a price. Apax, its joint venture partner in Trader Media, was interested in buying out the [...]
Business backs Cameron’s call on Europe vote January 23, 2013 BUSINESS leaders yesterday broadly welcomed David Cameron’s plans to renegotiate a new deal with the European Union. In a letter to The Times, 48 industry and City leaders said the Prime Minister’s promises of a negotiation followed by an “in-out” referendum within five years was “good for business and good for jobs in Britain”. The [...]
What did business leaders make of the Prime Minister’s speech? January 23, 2013 SIMON WALKER Director general of the Institute of Directors Free movement of goods and people is enormously important for the British economy, and we need to preserve that situation. At the same time, there are serious concerns about large amounts of costly regulation being introduced through unaccountable processes. A future referendum to decide the workings [...]
IMF expects UK to grow just 1pc as forecasts cut January 23, 2013 GROWTH in the UK will be even more sluggish than previously expected in 2013, while the Eurozone’s economic output will shrink again, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. The lending body slashed its GDP projections for regions throughout the world, predicting that global growth will slow to 3.5 per cent in 2013 – slightly [...]
JP Morgan boss Dimon hits out at accusations of opaqueness January 23, 2013 JP MORGAN chief executive Jamie Dimon made a staunch defence of the banking industry yesterday after accusations that big banks are not transparent enough. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Dimon warned of further regulation of the industry. “I think a lot of regulators are overwhelmed,” he said. “They’re overwhelmed with rules and [...]
Greenhill profits fall as advisory gains offset by bad investments January 23, 2013 GREENHILL & CO, the New York based investment bank and advisory firm, reported a 6.1 per cent fall in profits in the fourth quarter of 2012 on lower returns from investments. Despite a 17 per cent rise in revenues from advising clients, a poor run of investments pushed profits down to $15m (£9.5m) from just [...]
Metro boss: I wouldn’t set up UK bank again January 23, 2013 METRO Bank may not have been established if founder Vernon Hill had realised in advance how arduous and expensive the process of getting a banking licence would be, the American billionaire said yesterday. It is famously difficult to get a new banking licence issued, as the new venture’s backers must prove they have enough capital [...]