FSA outlines its crackdown on mortgages October 19, 2009 CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has unveiled a crackdown on the mortgage-lending market that includes plans to ban the self-certification loan industry. FSA chief executive Hector Sants unveiled a range of proposals including a ban on the self-cert, or “liar loans” industry, where borrowers are able to get mortgages without giving proof of [...]
Crystal Amber cuts JJB stake and takes profits October 19, 2009 CRYSTAL Amber Fund, one of JJB Sports’ largest shareholders, yesterday said it had cut its stake from 14 per cent to just under eight per cent, ahead of the retailer’s £100m fundraising. Crystal Amber made a 45.3 per cent profit on the sale of 13.6m shares that it bought when the stock was 22.4p a [...]
BANKS FACE THREAT OF TAX BOMBSHELL October 18, 2009 THE government risks driving droves of companies overseas and losing out on billions in revenues if it goes ahead with imposing a stricter tax regime on the banking sector, the City warned yesterday. The stark warning from City leaders came as it emerged that the government is considering a sweeping change to the fiscal burden [...]
Post unions in rage over hiring plan October 18, 2009 TRADE UNIONS warned employment agencies wanting to get involved in the Royal Mail dispute that they might face crippling fines, exacerbating already fraught tensions between the two sides. The GMB joined the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – which has called for national strikes over modernisation objectives – in slamming Mail plans to hire in 30,000 [...]
Liar loans set to be banned October 18, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority will today unveil reforms to the mortgage market, including rules to ensure that they are only given to those who can keep up the repayments. Self-certified mortgages – where a borrower is not required to prove their income – are expected to be banned as part of the watchdog’s review of [...]
Windfall taxes cannot be the answer October 18, 2009 IF TAX policy were determined by referenda, London’s financial institutions would be in even greater trouble than they already are. I was a guest on James Max’s LBC radio show yesterday and it was soon clear that the overwhelming majority of callers hate banks with a passion. My own position, which is that it would [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 18, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday Telegraph £5.5BN PLAN FOR POWER STATIONA £5.5bn planning application, the largest ever in central London, will be made today when Ireland’s Real Estate Opportunities and Treasury Holdings reveal their blueprint for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station. Plans for the mixed commercial and residential site, which developers say will be as iconically [...]
Kroll to take on Moody’s October 18, 2009 JULES Kroll, the founder of security and intelligence firm Kroll, is planning to launch a credit rating agency to take on the existing “big three”. Kroll – who last month opened a risk consulting company in New York and London – is understood to be planning to roll out the new firm as early as [...]
CME in 3.05bn deal talks October 18, 2009 CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, is in talks to take over the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in a deal that would value the largest US options market at up to $5bn (£3.05bn), according to US media reports. Further talks are on hold until after Wednesday, reports said. A deal of such a [...]
Fund manager accused October 18, 2009 The US government has claimed that New York-based hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam – who has been charged in connection with an alleged insider trading scam – was funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, considered a terrorist organisation by US authorities. The Sri Lankan defence ministry told the Financial Times that locally-born Rajaratnam had [...]
