MP expenses are censored June 18, 2009 OVER a million pages of MP expenses were made available to the public yesterday in a bid for transparency, but the government was hit by accusations of a cover up after huge swathes of crucial information was censored. Items hidden under thick black blocks include addresses of second homes, destinations on train tickets and the [...]
Hewitt expands BT role June 18, 2009 FORMER trade and health secretary Patricia Hewitt will become BT’s new senior independent director, the telecoms giant said yesterday.Hewitt, who takes up the new role next month, is expected to be a key contact for major institutional shareholders. The MP for Leicester West, who retires from Parliament at the next general election, has sat on [...]
Budget deficit biggest threat to recovery June 18, 2009 WE are in danger of getting blasé when it comes to Britain’s disastrous public finances. Yesterday’s figures were truly shocking; the monthly deficit total is now close to what we used to get for a whole year. It is fortunate for Gordon Brown that Sir Fred Goodwin’s decision to repay part of his pension and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 18, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GLENCORE WEIGHS UP FLOATATIONGlencore, one of the world’s largest private companies had held preliminary talks with bankers about an initial public offering as it reviews its partnership structure, to a person familiar with the company. While an IPO is not is not considered imminent, a move into the public spotlight would mark a [...]
Iran dedicates day of mourning June 18, 2009 More than 100,000 people yesterday attended a “day of mourning” rally in Tehran to remember eight people killed while opposing Iran’s election result. The rally was called by presidential challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi. Iran’s most influential body has said it is investigating complaints from the three defeated candidates. They say there was widespread fraud in [...]
Mass job losses to hit Fiat June 18, 2009 Fiat plans to stop car production at one Italian plant and change to a new platform at another, its chief executive told government and unions, as he explained the local impact of its deal to steer Chrysler back to health. Sergio Marchionne, who now also heads the US car maker, said that Fiat planned to [...]
Boris plans RMT talks June 17, 2009 TALKS between warring London Underground (LU) and the Rail and Maritime (RMT) union will resume tomorrow, London mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday, as fears of further tube strikes grow in the capital. Discussions between the two parties collapsed last week, leading to a 48 hour strike London’s 3.5m commuters, and a slanging match between both [...]
Anglo Overseas claims the worst of the economic crisis has passed June 17, 2009 INVESTMENT trust Anglo Overseas Trust yesterday injected a note of optimism into the market as it claimed the economic recovery was already underway. The trust’s net asset value per share rose 7.2 per cent to 92.35p over the three months to the end of April. “The economic outlook appears more stable and it is probable [...]
ITV favourite joins BT board June 17, 2009 TONY Ball, the chairman of Germany’s largest cable TV operator and frontrunner for the job of ITV chief executive, has been appointed as non-executive director at BT. The appointment of the former BSkyB boss – who has spent the past four years turning Kabel Deutschland into Germany’s fastest-growing high-speed broadband provider – came a day [...]
Holidaybreak plans rights issue June 17, 2009 Travel firm Holidaybreak plans to raise around £31m through a rights issue, fully underwritten by broker KBC Peel Hunt. The firm will issue around 21.7 new shares on the basis of four new shares for every nine existing shares, at a price of 153p a share, a 49 per cent discount to the stock’s Tuesday [...]