Barnier will announce EU banking levy May 25, 2010 THE EU will today propose a levy on European banks that would pay for future bailouts of financial institutions. Michel Barnier, EU internal market commissioner, is expected to announce the plans to force member countries to implement the tax. The controversial strategy is intended to limit the cost to tax payers when financial institutions run [...]
Italy takes action on debt May 25, 2010 ITALY’S cabinet yesterday approved a multibillion-euro package of budget cuts designed to slash the government’s deficit to beneath the EU ceiling by 2012. Details of the measures were not immediately available but a draft of the package included a four-year freeze on public sector salaries, and a reduction in state personnel by replacing only one [...]
Greece confident in privatisation plan May 25, 2010 GREECE said yesterday it is sure it will raise at least £860m a year through privatisations between 2011 and 2013, the target agreed under a rescue plan with the European Union and the IMF.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HINTS AT CURBS ON TARGETED WEB ADS Companies such as Google and Yahoo could face tougher scrutiny in the UK after the Office of Fair Trading said it could step in to regulate targeted advertising on the internet. The watchdog said that more needed to be done to ensure that consumer rights [...]
Investors do support AIA deal, says Pru May 25, 2010 PRUDENTIAL chairman Harvey McGrath yesterday attempted to smooth balm on investor fears by insisting the majority of shareholders support the $35.5bn (£24.7bn) acquisition of AIA, after the group’s new Asian shares dived on their debut and reports suggested AIA’s boss believes the deal is “unworkable”. “The response is constructive,” McGrath said after the dual listing [...]
Standard Chartered launches India depositary receipt sale May 25, 2010 STANDARD Chartered yesterday launched a share sale to raise up to $588m (£410.3m) from investors in India, a country where the bank is on a mission to bolster its presence. The emerging markets-focused bank opened its four-day sale of 240m Indian Depositary Receipts (IDRs) – a derivative instrument with Standard Chartered shares as its underlying [...]
Lifeline given to US banks May 25, 2010 A KEY US lawmaker said yesterday there is no need to force banks out of the lucrative over-the-counter derivatives business. Barney Frank, the Democratic congressman who will chair the House-Senate panel that will craft the final bill, said he disagreed with language in the Senate’s bill that could force banks to spin off their derivatives [...]
Investors conned by Madoff to be reimbursed by banks May 25, 2010 AROUND 20 European banks including HSBC have agreed to reimburse non-US investors for $15.5bn (£10.8bn) of losses from convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Javier Cremades, who helped create a legal network to pursue investor complaints about Madoff, said lenders in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom are among the settling banks. Lenders [...]
SocGen boss defends joint chief executive and chairman roles May 25, 2010 Societe Generale chief executive Frederic Oudea defended his role at an annual shareholder meeting yesterday and promised a “rebound” in 2010 as concerns persisted over the French bank’s prospects. SocGen’s shares closed down 6.3 per cent in a sector-wide hammering. Oudea, who took over both chairman and chief executive roles last year, hit back at [...]
THORNTONS BOSS LEFT WITH BITTER TASTE May 25, 2010 THORNTONS chief executive Mike Davies will step down from the company after it issued its second profit warning in as many months yesterday. The Chocolatier said Davies will retire to make way for a chief executive with the specific retail expertise needed to take the business forward. Davies will remain in place until a candidate [...]
