FACT BOX | EUROPEAN BANKING LAWS October 7, 2010 PAY RULES The European Parliament last week endorsed a skeleton law for the first EU-wide curbs on excessive pay in the banking sector from January 2011. CEBS MEETING The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), a panel made up of financial watchdogs from each member state, is the body that conducted the banking stress tests [...]
Sinochem offer for Potash Corp is now unlikely October 7, 2010 SINOCHEM, China’s largest fertiliser company, may struggle to get state financial backing for a takeover of Canada’s Potash Corp, making a deal unlikely, it emerged last night. China’s government has indicated it would prefer Sinochem to finance any takeover without credit from state banks, which is likely to put the transaction beyond the company’s reach. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 7, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES UK AND FRANCE IN TALKS ON TRIDENT MAINTENANCE An agreement being negotiated by the UK and France would see British nuclear warheads serviced by French scientists and break with half a century in which neither country has collaborated on its independent deterrent. Ahead of a summit in three weeks, the governments are close [...]
Footie tycoon hedges stake in Barclays October 7, 2010 THE BILLIONAIRE owner of Manchester City football club has moved to hedge himself against a drop in Barclays’ share price, investment bank Nomura confirmed last night. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan has done a deal with Nomura to protect the value of his entire £2.4bn stake, amounting to 6.2 per cent of total Barclays [...]
Cooper tops Labour MP’s poll October 7, 2010 YVETTE Cooper has topped the ballot in Labour’s shadow cabinet elections, putting her in poll position to become the next shadow chancellor – if she decides to accept the job. Cooper’s husband Ed Balls, a key ally of Gordon Brown, has coveted the top economic brief for several years, leading to suggestions she will stand [...]
SocGen says it won’t ask Kerviel for €4.9bn fine October 7, 2010 SOCIETE Générale has distanced itself from the record €4.9bn (£4.3bn) fine slapped on rogue trader-turned-national-hero Jerome Kerviel after an astonishing backlash in France. Kerviel was jailed for five years, with two suspended, for several offences including forgery. But the astronomical fine has caused indignation in his home country, solidifying sentiments that he was used as [...]
Betfair will sell stock to top investors October 7, 2010 BETFAIR expects its £1.5bn IPO to be fully subscribed by “high quality” institutional investors, according to sources close to the firm. Bosses began a two-week roadshow yesterday to convince investors to take up the share offer. The source told City A.M. the firm is confident the 10 per cent stake up for grabs will be [...]
Public sector pensions cut October 7, 2010 MILLIONS of public sector workers will have to contribute more to their pensions, if proposals put forward by Lord Hutton are adopted by the government. The former Labour work and pensions secretary, who is leading a commission into public sector pensions, also said that employees in the public sector would likely have to work longer [...]
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF LORD HUTTON’S RECOMMENDATIONS October 7, 2010 JOHN CRIDLAND | CBI He is clear that traditional final salary defined benefit schemes are not a viable way forward. Everybody needs to understand the true scale of pension liabilities. Every year there is a £10bn gap between what public sector employees and employers contribute and the value of the benefits that the state promises [...]
Cuts to civil service pay-offs October 7, 2010 THE government has agreed a new redundancy scheme with five civil service unions, ahead of a wave of public sector layoffs when spending cuts start to kick in. Firemen’s union the FDA, Prospect, the Prison Officers’ Association, GMB and Unite have all agreed to reduced terms for redundancy payouts, which will now be capped at [...]