Failure to build puts UK behind Carney’s Canada May 19, 2014 BANK of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday that the UK’s massive housing shortfall was a major threat to the UK economy – but why is it such an issue? There is nearly unanimous agreement about the cause of the UK’s high house prices, with groups as far apart as the Labour party and the [...]
Governor is spot on: Housing market is holding London back May 19, 2014 SPOT on. That is the only way to describe Mark Carney’s analysis of the woes of the UK housing market, which he attributes primarily to under-supply. I have my differences with the Governor on many issues, but it is excellent news that he has decided to throw his weight behind this issue. We are getting [...]
Swiss vote down plan for highest minimum wage May 19, 2014 THE SWISS public yesterday rejected a policy which would have made the country’s minimum wage the highest in the world. More than three quarters of the electorate voted against the proposal, which would have driven the minimum wage to SwFr22 per hour (£14.67), giving every full time worker an annual equivalent income of well over [...]
DirectTV sold to AT&T for $48.5bn in US mega deal May 19, 2014 DIRECTTV, the No. 1 US satellite TV operator, said last night it has agreed to sell itself to AT&T for $48.5bn, in the second mega-deal to shake up the US television landscape this year. AT&T said it is offering $95 per DirecTV share in a combination of stock and cash, a 10 per cent premium [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 May 2014 May 19, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Facebook ready to take on Snapchat Facebook is going head to head with rival Snapchat in the video-chat app market as the social networking group scrambles to win back users from the popular ephemeral messaging app. Facebook has been working for several months on the app, known internally as Slingshot, with a simple [...]
Deutsche Bank taps Qataris in €8bn cash call May 19, 2014 DEUTSCHE Bank is planning to raise €8bn (£6.5bn) in new capital, it said last night, with the Qatari royal family already lined up as one of the main investors. The German bank will raise €6.3bn in new equity via a rights issue, and said the remaining €1.75bn had already been placed with an investment vehicle [...]
Bill Gates’ firm Corbis buys UK sports marketer May 19, 2014 CORBIS Entertainment, owned by billionaire Bill Gates, today announced it has bought City-based sports marketing firm WSM Communications, in a deal set to create a sports and entertainment marketing group spread across both sides of the Atlantic. Corbis Entertainment is a division of Corbis, a digital content and entertainment rights company founded by Gates in [...]
Labour plans new low pay rules based on average hourly wages May 19, 2014 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will today announce plans to change the way the statutory minimum wage is determined and basing it on average hourly earnings. Miliband says that, if his party gained power, Labour would set the Low Pay Commission a five-year target to increase the rate to a set percentage of median hourly pay. [...]
Siemens readies asset swap bid to keep France sweet on Alstom May 19, 2014 SIEMENS is working on a formal asset-swap offer for Alstom’s power business that could come as early as this week and see France take a stake in a resulting rail-focused French group, sources close to the talks told Reuters yesterday. Alstom is already in talks with US conglomerate General Electric over a €12.35bn (£10bn) bid [...]
High hopes for Modi after landslide victory in India May 19, 2014 INDIA’S prime minister-to-be Narendra Modi spent yesterday huddled in discussions with close aides and advisers, finalising the names of people to join his cabinet and grappling with the crucial decision of who will be his finance minister. Two days after he won a thumping victory in the general election, there was little clarity about who [...]
