Punch broker set to settle with the FSA February 12, 2012 ANDREW Osborne, the corporate broker at the centre of the Greenlight Capital insider dealing case, has reluctantly decided he will not fight a £350,000 fine meted out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for his role in the affair. Osborne (pictured), whose clients at Bank of America Merrill Lynch included Tullow Oil, Cairn Energy, the [...]
Maine win for Romney signals key comeback February 12, 2012 REPUBLICAN presidential front-runner Mitt Romney grabbed back some momentum after midweek losses in three states, scoring a narrow win in Maine’s caucuses over the weekend, hours after winning a straw poll of Republican conservative activists. Results of Maine’s non-binding straw poll showed the former Massachusetts governor with 39 per cent support, or 2,190 votes, ahead [...]
GLASENBERG GOES ON TOUR February 12, 2012 GLENCORE chief executive Ivan Glasenberg is said to be preparing to join the roadshow to persuade investors to back the planned merger of Glencore with rival miner Xstrata. Glasenberg’s intervention could be necessary to get the deal through after a fifth major shareholder came out against the tie-up on Friday on the grounds that the [...]
Rothschild rivals look for end to board row February 12, 2012 NAT Rothschild could escape defenestration from the board of a company he brought to London this week, after his Indonesian business partners sounded a more conciliatory note following a week of meetings in London. The Jakarta-based shareholders of Bumi plc, the FTSE 250 miner, have been trying to get Rothschild voted out as co-chairman of [...]
Government should press ahead with NHS reforms, says our panel February 12, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT should press ahead with its controversial NHS reform bill despite widespread criticism, according to our Voice of the City/PoliticsHome.com panel. A narrow majority of 42 per cent of our panel agreed that health secretary Andrew Lansley and the Prime Minister should push on with the bill, compared to 40 per cent who said [...]
Tax experts bash Lib Dem pensions talk February 12, 2012 CUTTING tax relief on pension contributions for higher-rate tax payers risks unfairly over-taxing savers, and sends out the wrong signals about how Britain treats successful workers, experts at accountancy firm Baker Tilly warned yesterday. Chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has suggested top-rate taxpayers could lose half of the tax relief on their pension [...]
London gives 20 per cent of GDP to regions February 12, 2012 ONE IN every five pounds earned in London goes to subsidise other regions in the UK, research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) revealed this morning. Tax receipts stand at 45.2 per cent of GDP in London and 41.1 per cent in the south east, but only 29.7 per cent in the [...]
Suitors lining up for CWW February 12, 2012 THE GUN could soon fire on a bidding war over Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW) if the struggling telecoms company shows signs in its earning report this Thursday of corking its declining value. Telecoms giant Vodafone and private equity firm Apax Partners are thought to be heading the line of suitors, though O2 is also [...]
Vodafone on the lookout for a rebound February 12, 2012 A little birdie is flying around, leaving a story in its wake that suggests Vodafone is interested in Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CWW), the communications network which once rivalled BT, but now just crosses its fingers for profit. Vodafone was quick to quell the comments, but might it slip a cheque under CWW’s door? It [...]
Stelios stays away from crucial shareholders’ pay row meeting February 12, 2012 EASYJET chairman Sir Michael Rake hit back last night after shareholder advisory body PIRC recommended that investors veto the airline’s remuneration report and abstain from re-electing him as chairman. Sir Michael said easyJet “was not surprised by PIRC’s recommendation given its well-documented position on remuneration” and pointed out that in the last year, the body [...]
