China growth rate drops in first quarter April 13, 2012 China’s economy grew at its slowest rate in almost three years. Gross domestic product increased by a rate of 8.1 per cent in the first quarter, down from 8.9 per cent in the previous three months.
CHARITY RAID SET TO COST BILLIONS April 12, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s plan to cap tax relief on charitable donations will cost good causes billions of pounds, the City warned last night, as a series of senior MPs fed a growing political revolt. Investment manager Brewin Dolphin and accounting firm Baker Tilly spoke out against the proposal while business secretary Vince Cable said he was [...]
Google plots share split as profits surge April 12, 2012 INTERNET giant Google last night announced a two-for-one stock split to ensure co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin retain control over the company. Investors will receive one share of new stock for each existing Google share that they own. The new stock will be listed on Nasdaq under a separate ticker and will have no [...]
OECD predicts decades of austerity lie ahead for UK April 12, 2012 THE UK faces decades of more austerity in order to bring its spiralling debt under control and offset any impact on growth, influential think tank the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned. The Paris-based group calculates annual spending cuts and tax rises amounting to eight per cent of GDP a year – [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU seeks new curbs on bonuses Bankers’ bonuses across Europe would be capped at no more than their fixed salaries under strict new curbs sought by senior lawmakers in response to continued public anger over financial sector pay. EU parliamentarians are drawing up new caps on bonuses to be included in the latest [...]
Investor fears force Italian debt yields up April 12, 2012 ITALIAN bank stocks dropped sharply yesterday after renewed worries about the government’s ability to pay its debts pushed up state borrowing costs. Greece’s economic nightmare continued as official data showed unemployment increased to a record high of 21.8 per cent in January, and youth unemployment hit 50.8 per cent. Meanwhile UBS analysts warned that the [...]
North Korea launches rocket April 12, 2012 North Korea launched a rocket late last night, although it is believed to have crashed into the sea. The launch, which took place at 11.39pm UK time, was officially to carry a weather satellite but has drawn international criticism and sabotaged a food aid deal with the United States. Critics say the Unha-3 rocket would [...]
Report heralds US bank shake-up April 12, 2012 US banks have been told to split the roles of chairman and chief executive in an attempt to avoid the threat of another financial crisis in a report by the Group of Thirty, an international forum of regulators, central bankers and private bank bosses. The report blamed “pervasive failure of governance at all levels” as [...]
Brazil bid for BG stake in Comgas April 12, 2012 Brazil’s Cosan is in talks to buy British BG Group’s stake in the gas distributor Comgas, in a deal that would further diversify the Brazilian energy group. BG and Cosan confirmed yesterday their negotiations over BG’s 60 per cent stake in Comgas, Brazil’s largest gas distribution company, without mentioning the value of the deal. Their [...]
Lehman fallout earns £500m for PwC so far April 12, 2012 THE FALLOUT from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy has netted its administrator PwC almost half a billion pounds in fees since it was appointed in September 2008. In a progress report released this morning, PwC said the total remuneration paid since the start of the proceeding had reached around £495m by the 12 March this year [...]