M&S records £632m profit May 25, 2010 MARKS & SPENCER has recorded a pre-tax profit of £632m for the year to the end of March. The figure represented a 4.6 per cent rise on the year before. M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose said the results showed the economy was going in the right direction but that “the recession is not over” for [...]
City: cuts are a good first step May 24, 2010 BUSINESSES applauded George Osborne’s decision to wield the axe on Whitehall spending yesterday, but warned the £6.2bn of savings were a drop in the ocean compared to deeper cuts on the horizon. The chancellor won praise for his decision to begin belt-tightening early, as he announced he was scrapping the Child Trust Fund, pulling the [...]
MPC man: UK may be new Japan May 24, 2010 BRITAIN is at risk of suffering a prolonged Japanese-style recession that may be “scarier than the original,” a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee warned last night. Adam Posen, who is an expert on Japan, added that he couldn’t rule out the possibility of deflation engulfing the UK?economy, as it infamously did [...]
Banks call for living will plan May 24, 2010 LEADING G20 countries should set up a task force to oversee the creation of cross-border bank “living wills” and make bondholders aware they could take more pain if a lender hits trouble, top bankers said yesterday. The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a bank lobby group, said “resolution regimes” laid out for banks should make [...]
We need cuts to liberate enterprise May 24, 2010 APART from the fact that they don’t go far enough, there were two problems with yesterday’s otherwise much needed and very welcome public spending cuts: first, they are not worth as much as the coalition claims, a shame given that we are meant to be entering a new age of openness, not continuing with Labour’s [...]
Cost of red tape soars May 24, 2010 THE cost of doing business in Britain rose to £88.3bn this year, up £11bn on the year, after the government imposed 40 new regulations on firms, according to the British Chambers of Commerce led by director general David Frost. According to the BCC’s annual Burdens Barometer, published yesterday, the most costly regulations include the European [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIA CHIEF IN THREAT TO QUIT OVER PRU DEAL AIA’s chief executive has told friends and industry executives that he would quit if the UK’s Prudential succeeded in its $35.5bn (£24.6bn) takeover of the Asian businesses of AIG. Mark Wilson has said he would step down once the deal closed because the proposed [...]
Speculators bet against sterling May 24, 2010 Speculators bet against the pound at record levels despite the gradual lifting of uncertainty as the new coalition government unveiled more of its plans. Figures from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange showed speculators had extended bets against sterling to 76,745 contracts from 72,188, equivalent to £4.7bn, in the week to May 18 – a week after [...]
Pension deficits at £160bn May 24, 2010 The UK’s largest private pension plans have racked up a £160bn shortfall, according to a study. The combined deficit on FTSE350 retirement plans has more than trebled from £49bn last March, the report from consultants Mercer showed. The shortfall is smaller than the £170bn reported in early 2010. Mercer’s Deborah Cooper said:?“Events in the wider [...]
Banks face EU levy to insure against crises May 24, 2010 EUROPEAN UNION countries could be forced to impose a levy on their banks to help fund an insurance scheme that would protect against future banking failures. Michel Barnier, the EU internal market commissioner, will announce the plan – which could raise billions of euros – tomorrow and hopes to pass legislation by the end of [...]
