What the other papers say this morning – 13 February 2014 February 12, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Nigeria bank chief alleges oil racket Nigeria’s central bank governor has exposed a multi-billion-dollar subsidy racket inside the state-owned oil company that may explain huge shortfalls in what Africa’s leading oil producer is earning from its crude. Allegations by Lamido Sanusi about the mismanagement of Nigeria’s oil industry are ensuring a stormy end [...]
Two arrested in Rolls-Royce bribery probe February 12, 2014 TWO MEN were arrested yesterday after the Serious Fraud Office co-ordinated raids across London as part of its investigation into Rolls-Royce. The fraud squad, which opened a criminal probe into claims of bribery and corruption at Rolls-Royce in December, confirmed the property searches and the arrests. The National Crime agency and the City of London [...]
Cameron pledges £5,000 for UK homeowners hit by flood damage February 12, 2014 DAVID Cameron said yesterday he would make £5,000 available to every home and business hit by flooding, as gale-force winds disrupted trains, closed roads and cut power to vast swathes of the country. The Prime Minister reiterated his pledge to spend whatever it takes to help get communities back on their feet after heavy rain [...]
Lloyds chief exec Horta-Osorio to get £1.7m bonus February 12, 2014 LLOYDS Banking Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is expected to see his 2013 bonus hiked to £1.7m today. Osorio raked in £1.5m in performance pay for 2012, and is expected to see his bonus boosted for 2013, though the payment is likely to be delayed for five years. First reported by Sky News, Lloyds will reveal [...]
Bottom Line: Family will struggle to get backers to bite February 12, 2014 INVESTORS in Morrisons clearly aren’t convinced that a private equity prince is waiting in the wings ready to swoop with a buyout offer for the struggling supermarket. After an initial leap upwards – recovering little of the downwards slump it has seen over the past two year – shares closed just 0.25 per cent higher, [...]
Red tape costs force RBS to shut foreign currency accounts February 12, 2014 TENS of thousands of RBS accounts will be closed over the coming months as the bank shuts expensive services used by only a few customers, the lender said yesterday. It has been writing to the 36,000 holders of foreign currency current accounts – the majority of whom are not actively using the accounts – to inform [...]
Pressure on Wm Morrison rises on buyout talks February 12, 2014 SIR KEN Morrison said yesterday that he had no knowledge of any talks between his family’s trusts and private equity firms to take Morrisons private. According to a Bloomberg report yesterday, the Morrison family has approached several private equity firms including Apax, Carlyle Group and CVC Capital with the view of taking Britain’s fourth largest [...]
US Congress raises debt ceiling to 2015 without political drama February 12, 2014 THE US economy has been spared another crisis over public debt levels after Congress last night approved a deal to extend the federal government’s capacity to borrow money. The Senate backed a bill already passed by the House of Representatives to hike the debt ceiling, preventing the government shutdown the country suffered last Autumn. The [...]
Davey lays into energy price freeze scheme February 12, 2014 THE POLITICAL rift over energy policy widened today, with Liberal Democrat energy secretary Ed Davey set to criticise Labour’s pledge to freeze energy bills. “It will… threaten investment in energy security, push up prices for consumers… destroy competition by solidifying the power of the Big 6 and do nothing at all to reduce emissions,” he will [...]
SocGen profits jump after cost cutting success February 12, 2014 FRENCH bank Societe Generale hiked its dividend payouts to shareholders yesterday after profits jumped in 2013. The bank saw modest profit growth in its French retail arm, despite the wider economy’s poor performance, and it was bolstered by growth in markets like Russia. Profits came in at €322m (£236.9m) for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared [...]
