USand EU closer to bonus deal September 20, 2009 A RADICAL plan by the Federal Reserve to regulate USbank bonuses has made a deal at this week’s G20 summit much more likely, analysts said last night. The US shift has significantly reduced the gap with the EU’s position, but other nations and national parliaments would still have to endorse any agreement. The Fed now [...]
Economic woe hurts sterling September 20, 2009 The POUND’S long-run sustainable exchange rate may have fallen due to an increased focus on Britain’s economic imbalances in the wake of the credit crisis, the Bank of England (BoE) says in a report published today. In an article in its Quarterly Bulletin, the BoE says changes to Britain’s relative economic outlook, the perceived riskiness [...]
Long-term incentives no panacea for City September 20, 2009 SLOWLY but surely, the US and the European positions on regulating bonuses are becoming more similar. At the risk of courting unpopularity, it is therefore worth injecting a few facts into a discussion which to date has been characterised by hysteria and demagoguery rather than reason. It is true and deplorable that some bankers were [...]
Lloyds braced for tax row September 20, 2009 LLOYD Banking Group is facing an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over allegations that it helped wealthy clients avoid tax. Footage obtained by BBC’s Panorama shows a banker at the Jersey arm of Lloyds TSB Offshore telling an undercover reporter posing as a customer that he can channel funds through Hong Kong to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 20, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphTRUELL TO CONSOLIDATE UK PENSIONS Renowned City investor Edmund Truell is gearing up for a fresh round of acquisitions to drive consolidation in the UK pensions market. Truell, who founded private equity house Duke Street, said he was exploring targets for his Pension Corporation vehicle and had seen a growing interest from [...]
Boden readies for foreign shores September 20, 2009 Boden, the catalogue retailer best known for selling middle class Britons their weekend clothes, is understood to be preparing for expansion into Europe. The privately-owned firm – headed by founder and 60 per cent shareholder Johnnie Boden – is eyeing openings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Scandinavia, France and Switzerland. Boden posted a 9.5 per [...]
Boost for Chorion’s characters September 20, 2009 Chorion, the owner of children’s brands Noddy, Mr Men and Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple, posted a 63 percent rise in annual earnings as the company said consumers turned to familiar characters in turbulent times. “We’ve noticed a drift from new to classic,” chairman Waheed Alli told Reuters in an interview. “People are looking [...]
Osborne hits out at Labour over tax row September 20, 2009 SHADOW chancellor George Osborne was last night at the centre of a row with Labour and the Treasury after he accused the party of hiding a £14bn “income tax bombshell”. He released what he called “secret” figures from the treasury, showing a 3p in the pound income tax hike over future years. But MPs hit [...]
JP Morgan moots Cazenove buyout September 20, 2009 JP MORGAN and its joint venture partner Cazenove are understood to be weighing up an agreement that would see Cazenove sell its interest in the company to the US bank. Under the terms of the deal that saw Cazenove and JPMorgan Chase launch the venture in 2005, JPMorgan has an option to call, and Cazenove [...]
Ball wants bumper ITV pay packet September 20, 2009 Former BSkyB chief Tony Ball is locked in talks with ITV over the remuneration package he has been offered to succeed Michael Grade as chief executive at the broadcaster. Ball is understood to be demanding a pay deal worth up to £30m, including share options back-dated to when he was first touted as a candidate [...]