Government under pressure to reconsider police cuts August 10, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT yesterday came under growing pressure to reconsider its decision to reduce police numbers, after Britain was gripped by the worst riots in a generation. Boris Johnson, the Tory London Mayor, and Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, found rare common cause and denounced plans to cut the police budget as part of the [...]
Riots damage UK reputation August 10, 2011 RIOTING gave way to recrimination in the capital yesterday, with the first wave of alleged troublemakers appearing in court. Among them were teaching assistant Alexis Bailey; Laura Johnson, the grammar school educated daughter of a rich businessman and an 11-year-old child. While violence was largely contained across London, fresh clashes broke out in Eltham, where [...]
From royal fairytale to banana republic August 10, 2011 WHAT a year of contrast this has been for the UK. A few months ago, the world looked on longingly as we put on a marvellous, heart-warming show for the royal wedding, in a brilliant piece of PR highlighting the continuity and stability of Britain’s institutions, a valuable commodity in a troubled world. Today, all [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HONG KONG EXCHANGE HIT BY HACKERS Computer hackers forced the Hong Kong stock exchange’s website to crash, prompting the bourse to suspend trading in the shares of seven companies including HSBC and the exchange operator itself. The cyberattack, which deprived investors of important announcements from listed companies, came just hours before Hong Kong [...]
Apple patent war reaches EU August 10, 2011 A German court has temporarily barred Samsung from selling its flagship Galaxy tablet in most of the EU in a significant victory for Apple and its iPad. In a global intellectual property battle, Apple has said the Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad, and it has sued the [...]
Germans and Swiss in tax deal August 10, 2011 Germany and Switzerland have finally reached a deal to try and stop cross-border tax evasion from 2013. The nations have agreed to crack down on German citizens stashing money in Swiss accounts without being taxed, putting an end to a long-running dispute. Germans will be offered the chance to make an anonymous one-off tax payment [...]
Moynihan is committed to Merrill Lynch August 10, 2011 BANK of America chief executive Brian Moynihan yesterday vowed to keep its investment bank Merrill Lynch as he defended his performance and strategy to the bank’s biggest shareholder. Moynihan, who has come under fire for BofA Merrill Lynch’s recent share price falls, took the rare step of holding a conference call with Bruce Berkowitz of [...]
Murdoch vows to stay on as News Corp boss to clean up August 10, 2011 RUPERT Murdoch yesterday told investors he has no plans to step aside as boss of News Corp. During a bullish results call he said: “Let me be clear about this, I have run this company for over 50 years… The board and I believe I should continue in my role as chief executive… I am [...]
Fund manager puts his faith in US financials August 10, 2011 AS investors across the world took fright from financial stocks, Bruce Berkowitz took a large step in the other direction. His Fairholme Capital Management group recently placed a $5bn bet on the resurgence of Wall Street in a strategy that has seen him buy stakes in Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. [...]
King hints at more easing still to come August 10, 2011 MORE quantitative easing could be in the pipeline for the UK, after Bank of England governor Mervyn King left the door open for the programme dubbed “QE2”. Following hot on the heels of the Federal Reserve’s notably dovish statement on Tuesday, the Bank yesterday painted a gloomy picture of growth prospects and hinted at even [...]