Because you’re worth it: the best bachelor pads in town December 3, 2009 ATROPHY apartment is the ultimate reward for spending your 20s chained to a desk. And in case you hadn’t noticed, tastes for this type of flat, and the facilities found within it, are changing. Overt ostentation, 1980s-style, is out – so swimming pools with your monogrammed initials at the bottom are a no-no – to [...]
Retreating miners offset a strong day for banking sector December 3, 2009 A retreat in mining stocks offset gains in financials from Bank of America’s decision to repay bailout funds, leaving Britain’s top share index down 0.3 per cent at yesterday’s close. The FTSE 100 shed 14.39 points to end at 5,313.00, after gaining 0.3 percent on Wednesday. Banks were the top risers with sentiment helped by [...]
Wall St falls on poor service sector data December 3, 2009 US stocks fell yesterday after data showed the vast American services sector unexpectedly shrank in November and investors worried that Friday’s non-farm payrolls report may show the recovery is sluggish. Stocks sold off going into the close, led by financials, as Bank of America’s massive equity offering spurred concerns that other banks could sell new [...]
WAR ON BANKS AFTER BONUS ROW EXPLODES December 3, 2009 POLITICIANS rounded on bankers yesterday amid fears a windfall tax on bank profits is on the cards for the pre-budget report next week. The concerns came as a report from the National Audit Office (NAO), released today, revealed for the first time that the government has spent £117bn bailing out the banks. Lord Myners, the [...]
Treasury pays 107m in fees December 3, 2009 THE Treasury expects to have spent £107m by April 2010 on legal and financial advisers to sort out the banking crisis, a report from the National Audit Office revealed today. The legal firm Slaughter and May tops a table of fees paid for services with a bill of £32.9m, followed by Credit Suisse with £15.4m. [...]
RBSmust sell off its investment bank December 3, 2009 IT now seems increasingly likely that the government is planning to launch a series of tax raids on the banks at next week’s pre-Budget report (PBR). The exact form they may take remains unclear; but I suspect that it is not only bankers that will be affected but everybody else deemed “rich”. We shall see [...]
Gold hits record highs December 3, 2009 Gold hit record highs of more than $1,225 an ounce yesterday as it continued to attract investors looking for an alternative to the dollar. The precious metal has risen by more than seven per cent since touching a low of $1,136.80 last Friday on fears of a possible default on debt in Dubai, which spurred [...]
Further financial pain in 2011 December 3, 2009 British households should brace themselves for greater pain in 2011 than 2010, as the brunt of the government's tax rises and spending cuts come into force, economists have warned. Capital Economics has predicted that the worst year of the fiscal squeeze will be in 2011. Most consumers will feel financially worse off as a result [...]
Standard Life backs M&B’s management December 3, 2009 One of Mitchells & Butlers’ largest institutional shareholders yesterday issued a public statement backing the firm’s management, which is facing a revolt from dissident shareholders. Mitchells & Butlers, led by chief executive Adam Fowle, sent documents to the takeover panel this week alleging that Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, who controls a 23 per cent stake [...]
Kraft to post its Cadbury bid December 3, 2009 KRAFT Foods will today post its offer document to Cadbury shareholders, triggering a two-month £9.8bn takeover fight, sources with knowledge of the situation said. The American food giant has until 7 December to publish its offer document, but the sources said it was expected today, and would be at the same cash and shares terms [...]
