Lloyds bows to pressure March 15, 2012 STATE-BACKED Lloyds Banking Group yesterday bowed to political pressure by stripping four former directors, including ex-chief executive Eric Daniels, of their long term incentive plan awards. According to Lloyds’ annual report, the quartet were set to receive shares under the long term incentive plan (LTIP) for the integration of HBOS following its bailout in 2009, [...]
Osborne must be bold and cut taxes March 15, 2012 WILL he – or won’t he? There is mounting speculation today that George Osborne will slash the top 50p tax rate, either back to 40p or possibly to 45p. The move could be preannounced at next week’s Budget or happen as early as the coming tax year. The changes would be accompanied by an increase [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 15, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES OSBORNE WEIGHS 50P TAX RATE CUT George Osborne is considering announcing a cut in the 50p top rate of income tax to 45p in his Budget next week, after the Liberal Democrats showed willingness to drop their resistance in return for a clampdown on tax avoidance by wealthy people. THOMAS COOK TURNS DOWN [...]
Walsh slams growth plan March 15, 2012 BRITAIN lacks a credible plan to revive its stuttering economy and risks being left behind by fast-moving emerging markets, said the head of British Airways owner IAG, yesterday. Willie Walsh, who is at loggerheads with the government over airport expansion, said the UK was not keeping pace with rival countries that have cut business taxes, [...]
CITY A.M. WINS PRIZE FOR ITS JOURNALISM March 15, 2012 Allister Heath, editor of City A.M., was last night named the 2012 SIMA Financial Journalist of the Year. The prize was announced as part of the annual Goodacre City of London Wealth Management Awards at Mansion House, hosted by Michael Portillo. This is City A.M.’s second prize in recent weeks.
Cisco to buy News Corp TV firm for $5bn March 15, 2012 CISCO will buy NDS, the video software developer half-owned by News Corp, for $5bn (£3.2bn) as the Californian company works to enhance its TV services arm. Cisco, the computer networking equipment maker, said the acquisition will “complement and accelerate the delivery of Videoscape, [its cloud-based] platform that enables service providers and media companies to deliver [...]
Oil plummets on talks about US and UK releasing reserves March 15, 2012 THE PRICE of oil crashed by as much as $3 a barrel yesterday on the news that US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron have discussed a joint release of the countries’ fuel stockpiles to ease supply worries. Downing Street confirmed that the leaders have talked about tapping the States’ 727m barrel [...]
London top dog for investments March 15, 2012 LONDON remains the most attractive city for global investment, according to a study by KPMG. Shanghai and Hong Kong are close behind, however, and other emerging market cities are catching up, KPMG and the Greater Paris Investment Agency said in an annual report. Sao Paolo enjoyed a 160 per cent surge in international investment over [...]
US to tell markets: too big to fail is over March 15, 2012 US REGULATORS believe they have done enough to end the “too big to fail” problem and stop taxpayers from ever having to bail out banks, but they have yet to convince markets. The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp has said that he is planning a major roadshow to persuade investors that the government now has the [...]
Treasury fury as EU delays implementation of Vickers March 15, 2012 THE EU is holding back vital plans that will allow the UK to move forwards with implementing the Vickers banking reforms, City A.M. has learned. The UK Treasury is growing increasingly exasperated with the European Commission’s (EC) refusal to publish long-awaited plans for how to wind up failing banks without resorting to bail-outs, a key [...]
