France’s hopeless politicians will determine all of our futures April 22, 2012 WHAT a race. And what a mess. The useless Nicolas Sarkozy was given a bloody nose; the awful, economically illiterate Francois Hollande is in the lead ahead of the second round of the French presidential elections; and the horrendous national front grabbed almost a fifth of the vote. Listening to the candidates last night, it [...]
Clegg calls on MPs to reform House of Lords April 22, 2012 DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged fellow MPs to push on with reforming the House of Lords, as set out in the coalition deal. The Liberal Democrat leader, who has called for parliamentary reform since his days as an MEP, set out his stall ahead of an all-party report on Lords reform due today. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Non US banks hope for reprieve on swaps US regulators are exploring ways to give large foreign banks and overseas subsidiaries of US lenders a reprieve from stringent new derivatives rules, potentially alleviating one of the biggest concerns facing global finance institutions. Chesapeake discloses chief’s $661m payments for wells Aubrey McClendon, the chief [...]
Bank hunt will start in autumn April 22, 2012 The search for the next Bank of England governor will not formally start until the autumn, George Osborne said yesterday. The chancellor has come under pressure from the Treasury Select Committee to set out how and when it will choose Sir Mervyn King’s replacement. “There will be a proper process for appointing the next governor,” [...]
New SFO director starts job April 22, 2012 David Green QC begins his new role as the director of the Serious Fraud Office today, following Richard Alderman’s retirement. Green, a barrister with 25 years’ experience in criminal law, was until last year director of the central fraud group of the Criminal Prosecution Service. While his move to the SFO had been expected since [...]
Chinese in £1bn talks to gobble up Weetabix April 22, 2012 THE OWNER of Weetabix, one of Britain’s biggest breakfast cereal producers, is in talks with a Chinese company about a possible sale of the business. Bright Foods, Shanghai’s government-owned food-maker, is in discussions with Weetabix-owner Lion Capital about a bid believed to be in the region of £1bn. Such a price-tag would be a 70 [...]
Vodafone is facing decision time over its attempt to bid for CWW April 22, 2012 VODAFONE is set to unveil its intentions regarding Cable & Wireless Worldwide this morning, just days after rival bidder Tata Communications walked away from the table. The telecoms giant has until noon to put up or shut up after having its deadline extended three times already. Vodafone first expressed an interest in mid-February. Since then, [...]
Treasury tells departments: cut 5pc to save for a rainy day fund April 22, 2012 DEPARTMENTS will have to start saving their own reserve fund equal to five per cent of their spending, the Treasury will say today, forcing them to identify around £16bn in extra cuts to their day-to-day spending. Chief secretary Danny Alexander will tell the Institute for Fiscal Studies today that it is time for “new and [...]
Ex-HBOS boss in battle with FSA over fine April 22, 2012 PETER Cummings, the man behind some of the most high profile loans made by Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), has been handed a seven-figure fine by the City regulator. The former corporate boss is believed to have been handed a “warning notice” by the Financial Services Authority, which has been investigating the bank’s buying spree [...]
FPC is set to hit lending, warns HSBC chairman April 22, 2012 HSBC chairman Douglas Flint has joined the chorus of criticism against the Bank of England’s new financial policy committee (FPC) and warned it could reduce the pool of capital, increase lending costs and hit borrowing. Flint used a major speech to warn of the “material impact” the committee could have on access to credit and [...]
