BANK ECONOMIST OPEN TO MORE QE February 23, 2012 ECONOMIC uncertainty could see the Bank of England boost its quantitative easing programme even further, its director for markets has revealed. In today’s exclusive interview with City A.M., Paul Fisher, a member of the monetary policy committee, said he was open-minded on the possibility of voting for more easing later in the spring. “The outlook [...]
RBS chief: cutting pay is a big risk February 23, 2012 RBS chief executive Stephen Hester has said that his bank is taking a risk by paying below market rates for its top investment bankers due to political pressure. In an interview with City A.M., he said: “Clearly we are taking risks with that. We are paying less than some rivals like Barclays for similar productivity [...]
KPMG axes bonuses for trainees February 23, 2012 BIG Four accountancy giant KPMG has axed the £1,000 bonus it usually pays the majority of its second-year audit trainees, City A.M. has learned, in a move that will save the firm around £400,000. In a sign of significant challenges at the firm’s all-important audit division, KPMG emailed the trainees earlier this week to inform [...]
KPMG trainees furious after audit arm axes £1,000 bonus February 23, 2012 TRAINEES at KPMG were “furious” when they learned the Big Four accountancy giant would not be paying them the £1,000 bonus it usually gives to its highest performers. Adrian Stone, chief operating officer of the audit practice, broke the bad news to trainees via email at 4.15pm on Wednesday afternoon. The subject header read “First [...]
Osborne must not tax pensions more February 23, 2012 WANT to add some money into your pension? You’d better hurry up, as there is intense pressure on the chancellor to slash tax relief on pension contributions. If Lib Dems gets their way, 40p and 50p taxpayers will lose their tax relief, which would fall to just 20p for everybody. This would be a further, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE DRAWS FIRE OVER BORSA SYNERGIES The LSE’s takeover of the Milan bourse five years ago “has not fulfilled expectations either in Italy or London” in terms of stimulating cross-border capital flows or increased investment in Italian companies, the Italian securities regulator has claimed. QUINN CASE THROWS LIGHT ON IRISH BANKING [...]
CITY A.M. WINS PRIZE FOR FREE ENTERPRISE February 23, 2012 Allister Heath, editor of City A.M., has been chosen as the winner of the annual Institute of Economic Affairs National Free Enterprise Award. The prize, previously won by Margaret Thatcher, Richard Branson and Nigel Lawson, is awarded to those who contribute the most to free market thinking.
Hester: RBS loss is sign of our strength February 23, 2012 RBS chief Stephen Hester yesterday said his bank exists in an “Alice in Wonderland world” in which the £2bn net loss it booked for 2011 is a sign of growing strength because it shows an ability to “take the costs of clean-up”. The lender, which is 83 per cent government owned, also made a pre-tax [...]
Chasing good returns in Wonderland February 23, 2012 CURIOUSER and curiouser,” says Alice, after eating a cake that causes her to grow suddenly to the height of a giant. It is no wonder that RBS’s beleaguered boss Stephen Hester is starting to feel like his bank operates “in an Alice in Wonderland world”, as he put it yesterday. Unlike Alice, he has managed [...]
Dividend soon on Apple stock February 23, 2012 APPLE could be close to paying a dividend, it was revealed, as chief executive Tim Cook told investors the board is “thinking about this very deeply.” He dropped the hint during the company’s first annual general meeting since the death of Steve Jobs, who famously refused to pay a dividend. Apple is sitting on a [...]
