Branch sale in danger as Lloyds delays signing deal with Co-op March 22, 2012 LLOYDS was forced to push back the deadline for signing its sale agreement with the Co-operative Group yesterday, in the clearest sign yet that its divestment of 632 branches, known as Project Verde, is in danger. The bank said it is now aiming to clinch the deal with the Co-op in the second quarter of [...]
Vodafone is split on deal March 22, 2012 VODAFONE’S board is understood to be divided over whether to pursue a £1bn acquisition of Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), with some directors concerned about the reputational consequences of buying a group that has more than £5bn of UK tax losses. Chief executive Vittorio Colao is said to be broadly in favour of the deal [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES SPAIN’S BORROWING COSTS SOAR Spain’s borrowing costs rose above 5.5 per cent for the first time since January as investors fretted about another escalation of the eurozone crisis amid signs of further economic weakening even in Germany. Investors pushed Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond yields up 14 basis points to as high as 5.53 [...]
Regulators say they want competition but actions speak louder than words March 22, 2012 WHAT does the FSA want? Like all of us, the regulator wants to have it all: a high street banking sector that is both competitive and ultra-safe. But when push comes to shove, it is clear where the watchdog’s priorities lie. Its commitment to competition has been sorely tested by Lloyds’ branch sale. First there was [...]
Unemployment claims in the US at four year low March 22, 2012 THE NUMBER of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, offering further evidence that the jobs market recovery was gaining traction. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008. And a separate report showed a gauge of future US economic [...]
Day of change at UBS and Bank of America March 22, 2012 YESTERDAY was a day of musical chairs at two of the City’s top investment banks as both UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) made significant management changes. UBS, the bank still reeling from the after-effects of the rogue trader scandal, indicated its intention to remain a major force in investment banking by hiring [...]
CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCH March 22, 2012 ANDREA ORCEL Andrea Orcel’s departure will leave a big gap at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In a world where contacts and relationships matter so much, the suave late 40s banker had it all. His contacts include Santander, Danske Bank, Unicredit (where he helped BoAML take a lead role in the rights issue earlier this [...]
What did you make of chancellor George Osborne’s latest Budget? March 22, 2012 This week we are asking members of our Voice of the City panel, run in conjunction with PoliticsHome, what they thought of the Budget. Was it a good idea to raise the level of tax free allowance? And was Osborne right to bring the top rate down to 45p from next year? Are you one [...]
Five million to pay 40p tax rate in 2014 March 22, 2012 ONE-IN-SEVEN workers will pay the higher rate of income tax by 2014 thanks to George Osborne’s changes to the tax brackets, according to estimates from a leading think-tank. Five million people will be in the 40p tax bracket in 2013-14 – a rise of 1.3m from 3.7m in 2011, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) [...]
Glaxo reveals new factory but asks for more breaks March 22, 2012 GLAXOSMITHKLINE yesterday unveiled plans to invest more than £500m in its UK sites, including a new factory, in light of tax breaks revealed in the Budget. And the firm said it would double its investment at the new biopharmaceutical plant in Ulverston – but only if the government “improv[es] the environment for innovation”. Speaking just a [...]