J&J names new chief executive February 21, 2012 Johnson & Johnson chief executive William Weldon will step down from his post in April after a series of recalls called into question the quality of the healthcare giant’s products, from artificial hips to infant Tylenol. Weldon, 63, will remain chairman, the company said yesterday. He has held both roles for nearly 10 years, after [...]
Obama to lay out tax strategy February 21, 2012 The US Treasury Department will today roll out a corporate tax reform plan from President Barack Obama. The Obama plan will follow such principles as ”fairness” that the president laid out in his State of the Union address last month, officials said last night. Analysts said a cut in the corporate tax rate, which presently [...]
Trader fired amid fraud plan probe February 21, 2012 ASSET manager Threadneedle has sacked a trader over a suspected attempt to carry out a $150m (£95.03m) rogue trade. The American-owned firm made a complaint to the City of London Police after discovering the planned trade in August last year. It was stopped before it was completed. The deal would have been worth around $150m [...]
Oil could hit $150, says leading trader February 21, 2012 THE PRICE of oil hovered above the $120 a barrel mark yesterday as more of Iran’s trade partners looked to cut back fuel purchases from the country. The world’s leading oil trader Vitol said yesterday it expects instability in the Middle East to push prices further. Boss Ian Taylor said: “The Iranians now want the [...]
FSA body enlists Labour MPs to ambush financial reform bill February 21, 2012 A KEY FSA body is trying to ambush the government’s flagship financial reform by enlisting the support of opposition MPs to insert a last-minute amendment, City A.M. has learned. The change being pushed by the FSA’s Consumer Panel, an influential advisory body, would give firms a new explicit legal “fiduciary duty” towards their customers that [...]
ADELE CLEANS UP AT THE BRIT AWARDS February 21, 2012 Soul singer Adele last night added to her awards haul at the 2012 BRIT Awards in London, with two gongs for British female solo artist and best album. The 23-year-old also performed at the event at the O2 Arena, which saw the Foo Fighters win best international group and Coldplay pick up best British group. [...]
Troika bosses finally stumble upon a deal February 21, 2012 EUROPEAN leaders have finally agreed the terms of the second Greek bailout, which they hope will bring down the country’s crushing debt burden and allow for a long-term shift towards stable economic growth. International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Christine Lagarde praised the deal, saying it “will create the space needed to secure improvements in debt [...]
Leaders hail agreement yet sustainability still in doubt February 21, 2012 GREECE’S finance minister hailed the country’s latest bailout deal yesterday, saying that politicians had avoided “a nightmare scenario”. “It is maybe the most important [deal] in Greece’s post-war history,” Evangelos Venizelos argued, welcoming the “long-term support” that he says will enable Greece to stay in the Eurozone. Yet research by the troika of main lenders [...]
Europe is just throwing good money after bad February 21, 2012 EUROZONE finance ministers have obviously opted out of the working time directive. It took them thirteen hours to hammer out the terms of Greece’s latest bailout on Monday night. Like teenagers, they only seem able to achieve anything in the wee small hours, when most sensible adults are asleep. But even a teenager could tell [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THIS BE GREECE’S FINAL BAILOUT?* February 21, 2012 JAY RAO WHITEHORSE TRADING “No way. Greece’s economy is broken; the money the Eurozone has given is nowhere near enough. The best thing to do is get them to leave the euro so they can have a clean slate.” GREG DAVIS DETICA “I suspect this won’t be the last time that Greece asks for a [...]
