KPMG cuts own staff after warning bankers of job losses August 23, 2012 Professional services group KPMG warned just yesterday that bankers faced more job losses and pay cuts unless the economy improved. A day later and the firm was back in touch, announcing that there are going to be cuts in its own UK headcount of around 11,300 people. Yesterday the firm said it was carrying out [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Cameron pressed on Greening David Cameron is coming under increasing pressure to appoint a new transport secretary in next month’s cabinet reshuffle after the prime minister admitted his support towards the expansion of Heathrow – a policy implacably opposed by Justine Greening. Republicans eye gold standard The gold standard has returned to mainstream [...]
Government stands firm on tax reforms August 23, 2012 THE TREASURY yesterday refused to back down on plans to reform corporation tax for multinational companies, despite accusations from backbench MPs and charities that it will severely harm developing countries. In March George Osborne said that UK firms would no longer pay “top-up” tax on income earned in countries with low-tax regimes. The aim was [...]
FirstGroup deal hits the buffers August 23, 2012 The Parliamentary Transport Committee has asked transport secretary Justine Greening to delay handing the keys for the West Coast Main Line over to FirstGroup following “concerns” over the deal. Chair Louise Ellman MP has written to Greening urging her to delay awarding the franchise, due to be closed on 28 August, and wait until the [...]
S&P puts HSBC on lower rating August 23, 2012 Standard & Poor’s lowered its outlook on HSBC to negative from stable yesterday, leaving the bank more vulnerable to a ratings downgrade some time in the intermediate future. The ratings agency said that money-laundering allegations against HSBC may cause the British bank to lose business and face additional costs related to regulatory fines and litigation. [...]
Germany and France keep the onus on Greece August 23, 2012 FRENCH President Francois Hollande stuck by German chancellor Angela Merkel last night, as the pair preceded crunch Eurozone talks by insisting that Greece must maintain its programme of fiscal consolidation. The meeting came at the end of a day in which new economic data pointed to recession and tumbling consumer confidence in the single currency [...]
Citigroup slams Nasdaq payout offer for Facebook IPO disaster August 23, 2012 CITIGROUP launched a blistering attack on the Nasdaq stock market yesterday over its botched handling of Facebook’s flotation. The bank demanded the US Securities and Exchange Commission reject Nasdaq’s compensation offer after Citi and several other firms lost millions of dollars on the listing. It said Nasdaq’s $62m (£39m) offer would only cover a “very [...]
Aviva to cut 800 jobs at its UK businesses August 23, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva last night confirmed plans to cut 800 jobs in the UK this year as part of a shake-up aimed at reducing the number of middle-managers in the company. Aviva currently employs 18,500 staff in Britain and a spokesman confirmed to City A.M. that “up to 800 roles” are at risk. “In practice [...]
Co-op suffers as bank woes knock profits August 23, 2012 SOARING levels of bad debt combined with the uncertainty caused by the Eurozone crisis pummelled The Co-operative Group, dragging down the overall group’s performance, its half-year results showed yesterday. Group profits came to £174m in the first six months of the year, down 34 per cent on the £264m recorded in the same period of [...]
Bank report claims pensioners benefited from QE programme August 23, 2012 THE BANK of England yesterday hit back at critics who claimed its quantitative easing (QE) policy has harmed pensioners, saying they were actually the main winners from the asset purchase programme. A report from the Bank, commissioned by the Treasury, argues that QE boosted bond and equity prices. It said this consequently inflated the wealth [...]
