Simply the best in the West: HSBC posts record profits February 27, 2012 HSBC yesterday posted the highest 2011 profit so far of any Western bank after escaping the worst of the Eurozone crisis. Pre-tax profit rose 15 per cent to $21.9bn (£13.84bn), just short of the $22.2bn expected by analysts. Britain’s largest bank achieved strong revenue growth in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America although it [...]
Barclays hit by crackdown February 27, 2012 BARCLAYS has been targeted by the government’s closure of an “aggressive” tax avoidance scheme, costing it around £500m. The scheme shut by HMRC saw banks buy back their debt at a lower price than they had sold it, before avoiding corporation tax on the profit. The government is shutting down that scheme retrospectively, hitting any [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES GORDON GEKKO TELLS WALL ST GREED IS NOT GOOD Michael Douglas is playing a new and unlikely role as spokesman for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation in its war against corruption on Wall Street. The Hollywood actor – famous for his line “greed is good” in the 1987 film Wall Street – [...]
KKR bosses earn $94m February 27, 2012 HENRY Kravis and George Roberts, the co-founders and chief executives of KKR, have each received a payout of around $94m from the private equity group. The two 68-year-old cousins earned about $64.2m each in cash dividend payments from their combined 25 per cent stake in KKR last year, according to documents filed with the Securities [...]
Bond of police and NotW too close: Leveson February 27, 2012 POLICE and officials from the News of the World newspaper stalled early attempts to investigate allegations of phone hacking by its journalists, the Leveson inquiry was told yesterday. Former police commander Brian Paddick wrote in a statement that officers had evidence of “hundreds” of phone hacking victims in 2006. He said police decided to “warn [...]
Ross loses in bid to take Cosalt private February 27, 2012 DAVID Ross, the colourful chairman of safety gear supplier Cosalt, said last night he was preparing for life running a public company after failing to win sufficient backing for a de-listing. The multimillionaire investor just missed out on the 75 per cent investor support needed to go private, which would save an estimated £500,000 in [...]
City evicts Occupy London protesters February 27, 2012 DOZENS of police and City of London officials moved in just after midnight this morning to evict protesters from the Occupy London site at St Paul’s Cathedral. As the police arrived in force, protesters gathered on the steps of the Cathedral. Anti-capitalists chants rose above the sound of flute music and members of the Christian [...]
Greeks get backing from Germany… and another downgrade from S&P February 27, 2012 GERMANY approved the second Greek bailout yesterday, although 17 MPs from the ruling parties insisted the measures will not help. And the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s gave out its own dim view of Greece’s debt swap plans, following in Fitch’s footsteps to downgrade the country’s long-term debts. S&P said that once the debt exchange [...]
The Bank lines up Moorgate as its new office February 27, 2012 THE BANK OF ENGLAND is poised to expand its City presence from Threadneedle Street to Moorgate, bringing an end to its year-long search for office space to house the new City regulator. The Bank began a search last year for a home close to its headquarters to house the new Prudential Regulation Authority, which will [...]
Remember UK Plc’s vast contribution February 27, 2012 IT is sometimes argued, including by government advisers, that the state should promote small firms above large ones. These people even argue that small, insurgent entrepreneurs are morally superior to larger, more bureaucratic multinationals. I disagree, but I can see where they are coming from: I too would much rather work for a small, nimble, [...]
