Osborne: Large cuts are coming June 8, 2010 GEORGE Osborne yesterday told ministers to prepare for the toughest spending cuts in a generation as rating agency Fitch warned the UK faced a “formidable challenge” in reducing its yawning £156bn deficit. His comments came as Fitch warned Britain’s triple-A credit rating was at risk because its public debt had risen more quickly than any [...]
City investors round on Pru June 8, 2010 AT LEAST two of Prudential’s top 10 shareholders will meet with the company’s directors to demand a change of management after its failed bid for AIA, according to a report last night. Legal & General Investment Management and Fidelity, who between them control nearly eight per cent of the insurer, are understood to want a [...]
Osborne hints at truly radical change June 8, 2010 IT was not exactly the most convincing of public relation stunts – and predictably enough, George Osborne’s pledge yesterday to engage the public in consultations on the upcoming spending review in a way which would “strengthen and unite” the country was met with some derision. It is hard to imagine that anybody who works in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GREECE SEEKS INVESTMENTS FROM LIBYA George Papandreou will travel to Libya today for talks with?Muammer Gaddafi on possible investments in Greece as Athens struggles with its debt crisis. The Greek prime minister will discuss potential investments by Libya’s sovereign wealth fund and its state-owned energy groups with the country’s leader, officials said. EMERGING [...]
Volcker: Split up all banks June 8, 2010 AS US lawmakers hammered out a final financial regulation bill, controversy emerged last night over the proposed “Volcker rule” that would bar banks from the risky private equity and hedge fund businesses. White House economic adviser Paul Volcker, in a letter, said he firmly opposed giving banks that make only small investments in hedge funds [...]
RBS whittles down shortlists June 8, 2010 Royal Bank of Scotland is closing in on the sale of £4bn of assets. Morgan Stanley and Jeffries are understood to be among the final bidders for RBS Sempra Commodities’ North American unit, while two consortia led by Advent International and TPG are in the last round for RBS’ card processing operation, Global Merchant Services.
Hedge funds suffer tough May June 8, 2010 May was the worst month for hedge funds since October 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed. The average vehicle lost 2.26 per cent, according to data from Hedge Fund Research Information, with no strategy ending the month in positive territory.
Hambro to list iron ore division June 8, 2010 Petropavlovsk, the company formerly known as Peter Hambro Mining, is believed to be planning a $1bn (£691m) flotation of its iron ore operation on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The group, which has its main listing in London, is understood to have chosen the Far Eastern bourse because its ore mines are located close to [...]
Stockbroking chiefs back CGT campaign June 8, 2010 THE CHIEFTAINS of some of the City’s most successful independent stockbrokers have thrown their support behind City A.M.’s campaign against the coalition government’s proposed hikes to capital gains tax (CGT). Yesterday, Charles Stanley chairman and ex-Lord Mayor of London Sir David Howard said he applauded the campaign, claiming that it would be an “astonishing” move [...]
Ex-City minister launches savage attack on Labour June 8, 2010 LORD MYNERS, the recently departed City minister, launched an astonishing attack on his former Labour colleagues’ economic record yesterday. Backing the coalition government’s call for dramatic public spending cuts, the peer said: “There is nothing progressive about a government that consistently spends more than it can raise in taxation and certainly nothing progressive that endows [...]
