What the other papers say this morning – 04 April 2014 April 3, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Channel 5 bidders question valuation A war of words has broken out over the valuation of Channel 5, ahead of this month’s deadline for second-round bids for the broadcaster owned by entrepreneur Richard Desmond. In January, people close to the bidding process said Mr Desmond was seeking a price of more than £700m [...]
City watchdog takes on credit card industry April 3, 2014 CREDIT card borrowers may be paying over the odds for their loans because of a lack of competition in the sector, the City watchdog warned yesterday. Although the sector offers a wide range of deals, such as zero per cent balance transfers, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fears the longer-term cost of borrowing is not made clear. [...]
Matomy scraps $300m London premium float April 3, 2014 ADVERTISING tech firm Matomy Media has pulled plans for a $300m (£180.7m) premium listing in London due to a lack of interest from European investors. Matomy is understood to have received ample interest from US investors, where it is now expected to pursue a listing. The Israeli business picked London over the Nasdaq to raise [...]
Draghi ready for quantitative easing if low inflation persists April 3, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) took no further action this month, holding off on further easing despite the news that inflation had fallen to a four-year low in March. However, ECB President Mario Draghi revealed that the governing council had discussed the possibility of both negative deposit rates and quantitative easing (QE) this month, giving [...]
Weir chief says no to Scottish independence April 3, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of Scottish engineering giant Weir Group yesterday warned of the “guaranteed” costs of independence and said he would vote “no” in September’s referendum. The FTSE 100-listed firm commissioned Oxford Economics to produce a report on the business implications of Scottish Independence, which claims that the move would “create a number of costs [...]
Lloyds in bid to up top exec pay April 3, 2014 LLOYDS Banking Group is seeking shareholder approval to boost the pay of its 400 most senior staff. The bank, which the government still holds a 24.9 per cent stake in, wants the flexibility to pay its executives up to 200 per cent of their salaries via bonus awards. The move comes ahead of new EU [...]
Ed Balls sparks benefits row April 3, 2014 LABOUR’S shadow chancellor Ed Balls has sparked a political row over tax and benefit changes, accusing David Cameron of hitting families hardest. Labour’s analysis of the figures produced by the Institute of Fiscal Studies after last month’s Budget, show that on average, people will be £974 per year worse off since 2010 when the coalition [...]
Smog over London set to lift today April 3, 2014 SOUTH westerly winds are expected to lift most of the smog over London today after two days of high pollution levels. London mayor Boris Johnson called for “a little bit of a sense of proportion” on the smog, which prompted some schools to keep students indoors.
Banks expecting sharp jump in the demand for mortgage loans April 3, 2014 BANKS are expecting to provide more credit for mortgages and business loans in the coming three months, a closely-watched survey revealed yesterday. The Bank of England’s latest credit conditions survey, which is released every quarter, said that the availability of secured credit for households edged up in the opening three months of the year – [...]
Modest growth but no upsurge for euro firms April 3, 2014 THE EUROZONE’S firms recorded another modest expansion in March but missed out on a more rapid return to growth, according to a major survey of companies. The Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI) pointed to further reasonable growth last month, with a score of 53.1. Any score over the neutral level of 50 suggests that businesses [...]
