Brown warns of double dip April 19, 2010 GORDON BROWN launched yet another attack on Conservative tax and spending plans yesterday, in a bid to convince voters that a Tory emergency budget would plunge the UK into a double-dip recession. Flanked by chancellor Alistair Darling and business secretary Lord Mandelson, the Prime Minister said Tory plans to “take money out of the economy” [...]
ELECTION2010 April 19, 2010 Tories call for lobby register Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary yesterday called for a “statutory” register of lobbyists in the wake of recent political scandals. The Tories say they favour a voluntary approach but would be willing to make it a statutory requirement if that does not happen. Miliband: Iraq wrong choice Foreign secretary [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HCL FUELS DEBATE The head of one of India’s biggest IT outsourcing companies has waded into the debate on UK public sector efficiency savings, complaining of an “old boys’ network” in government procurement. Vineet Nayar, chief executive of HCL Technologies, hit out at the “stranglehold of a few companies” in Britain’s £17bn market [...]
Indie to hand out 3m free newspapers April 19, 2010 THE Independent will hand out 3m free issues of its revamped newspaper in marginal constituencies in the run-up to the general election. The paper today unveiled a major facelift after being bought by ex KGB-man Alexander Lebedev last month. The limited edition election editions will promote the newspaper’s independent stance by refusing to back any [...]
Sage boss Walker weighs up options April 19, 2010 SAGE chief executive Paul Walker says he is weighing up a number of options as he prepares to leave the IT company he has led for 16 years. Walker, who first joined the FTSE 100 firm with a market value of £3.3bn in 1984, told City A.M.: “I will look at a chief executive’s or [...]
Taxpayer is in profit on RBS April 19, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland shares have jumped higher than the price the government was forced to buy them up at to save the bank from going under. As things stand the tax payer would make a profit of £180m on the 84 per cent government stake. It is thought the spike in share price was [...]
Ex-Lehman boss defends record April 19, 2010 THE former chief of Lehman Brothers Dick Fuld will today tell the US financial services committee that details about the bank’s collapse were distorted by a court appointed adviser. The hearing on the spectacular demise of the bank will also hear from Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mary Schapiro, chairman of the SEC, [...]
Airlines feel heat of Icelandic volcano April 19, 2010 AIRLINES grounded by the eruption of an Icelandic volcano are set for further losses if airspace is closed again, with the airline industry yesterday reporting daily losses of more than £5m. “If the shutdown of the airspace in the UK and large parts of Europe [returns], it will almost certainly lead to some carriers, especially [...]
TUI is losing £6m a day in travel chaos April 19, 2010 TUI TRAVEL, one of the UK’s largest holiday groups, has estimated that the impact of the ash-spewing volcano in Iceland has cost it up to £6m a day. The Crawley based group said yesterday that it had incurred a cumulative cost of £20m from Thursday to Sunday last week and estimated that daily costs thereafter [...]
Limited near-term economic impact April 19, 2010 WITH no aircraft allowed to enter or leave the UK since 15 April due to the volcanic ash, disruption and problems for the economy have been widespread. But the overall impact for the UK should be limited, especially as British airspace is poised to reopen. There is, however, a not insignificant risk the problem could [...]
