BORIS TO EU: BACK OFF ON BANK PAY February 18, 2013 BORIS Johnson last night told City A.M. that “we don’t need Europe butting in on bonuses,” as he launched a staunch attack on the EU’s plan to cap bonuses at the same level as salaries. “I’ll always be the first to defend the City – we need to remain competitive,” said the Mayor, as he [...]
WH Ireland snaps up £270m of Seymour Pierce wealth assets February 18, 2013 CITY broker WH Ireland yesterday announced it had swooped on the remnants of bankrupt broker Seymour Pierce and snapped up its wealth management business for just £25,000. The acquisition struck between Tenebris Realisations – Seymour Pierce’s moniker since administration – and WH Ireland on Friday follows rival broker Cantor Fitzgerald’s agreement to buy substantial portions [...]
Frontline Economics: The 10p rate is pure politics – let’s raise people out of income tax altogether February 18, 2013 MILTON Friedman once said, “I am in favour of cutting taxes under any circumstances and for any excuse, for any reason, whenever it’s possible.” I agree, particularly for taxes on income. There is a strong moral case for easing the burden, especially now the cost of living is rising above nominal wages. Yet Ed Miliband’s [...]
Super sub Nani notches to send United into last eight February 18, 2013 MANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson lavished substitute Nani with praise after his man of the match performance helped the Reds reach the FA Cup sixth round last night. The Portuguese winger, who reportedly fell out with Ferguson at the end of last year and has made just three starts for United in 2013, came [...]
Equistone exits UK energy firm at a premium February 18, 2013 EQUISTONE, the private equity group, yesterday exited its majority stake in oil and gas company Hydrasun after selling it to a Bahraini-listed investment company. The sale, which comes over five years after Equistone backed a management buyout of the firm, represents more than a 2.5x premium to the firm’s original money investment of £38m. The [...]
Cameron demands India opens up economy to City February 18, 2013 DAVID Cameron yesterday called on India to open up its economy to British banks and insurers, in return for relaxing UK visa rules for executives from the subcontinent. But the Prime Minister faced difficulty as he waded into the debate over two troubled defence contracts and tried to convince India to hand major infrastructure contracts [...]
Wenger urges patience in bid to topple Bayern February 18, 2013 UNDER-FIRE Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes a patient approach to his side’s daunting Champions League last 16 tie with German giants Bayern Munich can see the Gunners reach the quarter-finals for the first time in three seasons. The Bundesliga leaders visit the Emirates Stadium for the first leg tonight on the back of five straight [...]
Britain’s Facebook is already here but we lack the tools to identify it February 18, 2013 IT’S been described as “the $4.2 trillion (£2.7 trillion) opportunity”. According to the Boston Consulting Group, there will be 3bn internet users globally by 2016. If it were a nation, the internet-based economy would rank in the world’s top five. And the UK sits at the forefront, with 8.3 per cent of GDP now online [...]
Rothschild heir backs launch of merchant bank February 18, 2013 EDMOND de Rothschild, the wealth manager chaired by an heir of the Rothschild banking dynasty, is to launch a UK merchant bank after winning regulatory approval for the plan. The new outfit, which was given consent to launch by the Financial Services Authority in mid-January, will be called Edmond de Rothschild Private Merchant Banking and [...]
Whaam! Merrill seeks street cred with graffiti and tattoo project February 18, 2013 BANK of America Merrill Lynch, sponsor of the Tate Modern’s highly anticipated Lichtenstein exhibition, is also backing a far less traditional venture – an outdoor graffiti art project. With the retrospective finally opening this week, the firm is getting involved with a Lichtenstein-inspired art education project with Graffiti Life – a collective of tattooists and [...]
