Flowers: Chancellor wanted a Co-op deal March 25, 2014 DISGRACED former chairman of the Co-operative Bank Paul Flowers has accused the chancellor of being the driving force behind a deal which ultimately exposed the bank’s dire financial situation. In an explosive interview on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Flowers told Jeremy Paxman that he came under “considerable” pressure from the government to complete a successful [...]
King crushes US with $7bn float March 25, 2014 THE BRITISH firm behind hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga will make its stock market debut today, in a blockbuster flotation that values the company at more than $7bn (£4.2bn). King Digital Entertainment, which will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange this afternoon, sold 22.2m shares priced at $22.50 – the midpoint of their [...]
British bosses warn that Scottish economy will struggle on its own March 25, 2014 SCOTLAND’s economy is poorly equipped to stand on its own if voters choose independence from the UK, according to a damning verdict by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today. The business group says that while the Scottish economy functions well as a part of the UK, tax revenues would be at the mercy of [...]
Women now make up one fifth of top UK boardrooms March 25, 2014 THE NUMBER of women in Britain’s biggest company boardrooms now stands at more than 20 per cent, with just 48 more women needed on FTSE 100 boards before the government’s 25 per cent target is met. Women now make up 20.7 per cent of all FTSE 100 boards, according to the latest Cranfield Female FTSE board report, leaving [...]
The only way to really cut spending is to reengineer the state March 25, 2014 A YEAR ago, the political establishment was still obsessed with the debate over austerity; today, hardly anybody cares any more. Labour has moved on to fresh territory, as has the coalition. The reason, of course, is that growth has returned: the anti-austerians only had traction when it was possible to argue that cuts were preventing [...]
Dimon ally quits JP Morgan to go to Carlyle Group March 25, 2014 PRIVATE equity firm Carlyle Group yesterday named as co-president and co-chief operating officer JP Morgan’s Michael Cavanagh, who had been considered a leading contender to succeed the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon. Cavanagh is currently co-head of JP Morgan’s corporate and investment bank. His move to Carlyle is a testament to the rise of alternative asset [...]
Facebook in $2bn virtual reality buyout March 25, 2014 SOCIAL media giant Facebook has bought Oculus, a virtual reality gaming firm, for $2bn. The shock deal saw Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pay $400m in cash and 23.1m in Facebook shares, as well as a $300m cash incentive if certain key milestones are reached. “Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 26 March 2014 March 25, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Banks pay out $100bn in US fines Wall Street banks and their foreign rivals have paid out $100bn in US legal settlements since the financial crisis, according to Financial Times research, with more than half of the penalties extracted in the past year. The sum reflects a substantial shift in political attitudes towards [...]
Treasury selling £4.2bn of stock in Lloyds Bank March 25, 2014 LLOYDS is taking another step towards privatisation as the government last night announced it is selling another 7.5 per cent stake in the bank. The 5.35bn shares are worth around £4.2bn at last night’s closing price of 79.1p – firmly above the 73p the government paid for the stock. However, the large placement of shares [...]
Miliband faces Labour revolt in the commons over welfare cap March 25, 2014 AS MANY as 20 Labour MPs are set to defy leader Ed Miliband in a vote in the House of Commons today on the welfare cap. The vote, which the Labour party is supporting, has been called by the government as a result of the Budget last week and will limit Whitehall spending unless a [...]
