Revenue contests footie debt rule June 2, 2010 Revenue & Customs has filed a writ against the Premier League in a bid to overturn the creditors rule. Under the rule, clubs coming out of administration must first settle football debts in full, while other creditors, such as Revenue, are paid later and often receive only a fraction of the sums they are owed. [...]
Traders clash over marketplace June 2, 2010 Traders clashed over the fragmentation and ultra high speed of US equities marketplace yesterday, as one charged that more traditional orders are being “gamed” but another said that high-frequency traders are unfairly vilified. The trading experts argued over what needs to be done to restore confidence after the Dow Jones industrial average mysteriously plunged some [...]
Bank’s King spurns 2.5pc salary hike June 2, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND governor Mervyn King has turned down his right to a 2.5 per cent pay rise in both 2010 and 2011 but his annual pay packet, including benefits, will still amount to £305,764, the central bank’s annual report revealed yesterday. This is over £30,000 more per year than the highest-paid civil servant, according [...]
Gunman kills 12 people in Cumbrian shooting rampage June 2, 2010 A GUNMAN shot and killed at least 12 people in Cumbria yesterday after a shooting spree in a number of small towns in the northwest region. The shootings, believed to be the worst the UK has seen in more than a decade, have also left 25 people injured, including three children who are critically injured. [...]
Economist Arthur Laffer slams proposals to raise cap gains tax June 2, 2010 ARTHUR Laffer, the celebrated economist who created the Laffer curve to show how dropping tax rates could result in increased revenue, has warned hiking capital gains tax (CGT) will cause an “inordinate amount of damage” to the UK economy. “Raising capital gains tax rates will reduce total capital gains; it will lower total profits; it [...]
Moody’s staff say bullied to give top rating June 2, 2010 FORMER Moody’s analysts say they felt pressure from bosses obsessed with market share to assign rosy ratings to risky debt products, while the company’s current chief executive defended the rating agency’s business model, according to testimony released yesterday. Three former officials at Moody’s described an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, according to prepared comments to [...]
Europe to crack down on credit rating agencies June 2, 2010 THE EUROPEAN Commission stepped up its efforts to crack down on credit rating agencies (CRAs) yesterday, by tabling legal amendments to the supervision and transparency of CRAs operating in the EU. The Commission also launched a public consultation on corporate governance, as part of its “final push” to reform financial services in the EU. Under [...]
Jupiter owns up to its star manager risk June 2, 2010 FUND manager Jupiter yesterday admitted 38 per cent of its assets under management are reliant on just four individuals, posing a considerable risk to the success of its business in the event of any of them quitting. The admission, contained in the float prospectus, comes after Jupiter emphasised to investors in pre-IPO marketing that its [...]
Pru told to list its Asian unit June 2, 2010 PRUDENTIAL is facing calls to realise the value of its Asian business through a stockmarket listing after its $35.5bn (£25bn) play for AIA lay in tatters yesterday. Chief executive Tidjane Thiam and chairman Harvey McGrath, who are fighting for their professional lives along with the rest of the board, will come under pressure to provide [...]
Former Vivendi boss admits errors during 2002 freefall June 2, 2010 JEAN-MARIE Messier, the emblematic entrepreneur who created media group Vivendi out of a water firm through a spate of leveraged acquisitions that nearly choked the company, admitted in court yesterday he had made strategic errors. The 53-year old Frenchman, ousted from Vivendi in 2002, is standing trial, accused of giving out misleading information, manipulating stock [...]
