Premiers lock horns over ESM bank license legality August 29, 2012 GERMAN chancellor Angela Merkel clashed with Italian premier Mario Monti at a meeting in Berlin yesterday, disagreeing whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) could be given a banking license. Merkel argued that current treaties forbade giving the ESM extended bond-buying powers, but Monti argued that difficult times called for a more flexible approach. However, leaders [...]
A wealth tax won’t work – except as political pantomime August 29, 2012 LIKE a sudden downpour, Nick Clegg has signalled an end to the summer’s drought of domestic policy proposals with his suggestion for an additional wealth tax. The deputy Prime Minister’s new idea has, rightly, been widely criticised for being both impractical and counterproductive, with even the chancellor George Osborne forced to warn of its potential [...]
MPs urge fast action to beef up air capacity August 29, 2012 MORE MPs have waded into the row over Heathrow’s future, warning in a report yesterday that unless the coalition takes immediate action to expand Britain’s air capacity, the country will miss out on potential growth. The all-party parliamentary aviation group adds to pressure on transport secretary Justine Greening, who has spent the week insisting that [...]
Police identify body in Latvia August 29, 2012 LATVIAN police yesterday said that DNA tests carried out on a dead body discovered earlier this month confirm it is likely to be that of Leonid Rozhetskin, a shareholder and board member of City A.M., who has been missing since 2008. A police spokesperson said the DNA profile of the corpse found in a remote [...]
Samsung court date is delayed August 29, 2012 FOLLOWING the fall-out of Apple’s $1bn victory over Samsung in the courts last Friday, US Judge Lucy Koh yesterday announced the hearing, which could see eight phones removed from the shelves, will take place on 6 December. News of the delayed injunction, which was originally pencilled in for next month, led Samsung shares to rise [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 29, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Google Plus adds new features Google is expanding its social networking service further into the corporate world to take on the likes of Microsoft’s Yammer and Salesforce.com’s Chatter. The search company launched Google Plus in June last year but did not originally allow business customers of its Google Apps products, such as Gmail [...]
Barclays faces SFO probe over Qatar payments August 29, 2012 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating payments between Qatar and Barclays, the bank confirmed yesterday. Barclays said it is complying with the fraud squad’s probe, which is in its early stages. The SFO investigation is separate to the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) inquiry that began in July, which relates to fees paid to the [...]
Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus stalls as Europe opens antitrust probe August 29, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission has put the brakes on Ryanair’s latest takeover bid for Aer Lingus by opening an in-depth competition probe. The investigation means Ryanair’s €694m (£549.5m) offer for its Irish rival lapses, though the airline said it plans to make a new bid for Aer Lingus if it gets clearance from Brussels. The Commission, [...]
US economy in slow recovery, report reveals August 29, 2012 THE US economy is slowly but steadily recovering, a tranche of releases from official bodies and industry groups said yesterday. Retail and car sales were driving a gradually growing economy, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report of anecdotal evidence, but they also warned of a slowdown in manufacturing expansion. And the US [...]
Spain promises plan for a bad bank is on track August 29, 2012 SPAIN is not negotiating further austerity measures with Brussels as part of talks over possible European Central Bank (ECB) intervention to bring down the struggling state’s borrowing costs, its economy minister said yesterday. Luis de Guindos also insisted that Spanish and EU authorities are in agreement over plans for a bad bank to hold toxic [...]
