UAE regulator calls for fines for bankers November 18, 2013 THE head of the United Arab Emirates Banks Federation has called for sanctions to be introduced to back up the country’s new mortgage law, including suspending banks from offering real estate products. The Gulf nation is bringing in new regulations to imposed limits on mortgage lending, to prevent another boom-and-bust cycle after a property market [...]
EasyJet sets a course to break its profit record November 18, 2013 EASYJET is expected to smash through its profit record for the third year in a row tomorrow after its push into business travel and the introduction of new routes boosted turnover per passenger. The low-cost airline said last month that it expected to report annual profits of between £470m and £480m, up from £317m the [...]
Bottom Line: Results to show benefit of planning ahead November 18, 2013 LAST week, EasyJet revealed that it had finished testing its volcano-busting aircraft sensors, allowing planes to dodge ash clouds and keep flying after eruptions like the one that crippled European airspace in 2010. The experiment, which required EasyJet and its partners to throw a metric tonne of ash into the sky before flying four planes [...]
France reveals €5.5bn shortfall in tax receipts November 18, 2013 FRENCH budget minister Bernard Cazeneuve said yesterday that weak economic growth was causing a €5.5bn (£4.6bn) shortfall in 2013 tax receipts. “According to our calculations there is a €1bn shortfall on value-added taxes and a €4bn shortfall on corporate taxes, which are particularly sensitive to the economic cycle,” Cazeneuve said on BFM Television. He added [...]
Bitcoin price hits $500 as demand soars for virtual currency in China November 18, 2013 VIRTUAL currency Bitcoin soared over $530 to a new record high on the Mt Gox, one of the currency’s largest exchanges last night – almost doubling its value in the last 12 months. The recent surge has been largely attributed to the digital currency’s rising popularity in China, where investors are becoming increasingly interested in [...]
Thai visitors among the UK’s big shopper league this Christmas November 18, 2013 WEALTHY foreign visitors are expected to keep Britain’s tills ringing over the crucial Christmas period, with spend from Thai tourists outpacing all other nationalities so far this year. Thai visitors are the fastest growing consumers of luxury goods in the UK this year so far, with spending up 53 per cent compared to the 37 [...]
Big six forced to compete in new energy auction November 18, 2013 CUSTOMERS are grouping together to switch energy suppliers in time for an auction of energy deals tomorrow, as part of a government-backed initiative to force the big six to compete on price. The nationwide schemes are being managed by 77 local authorities, including 23 London boroughs. “Switching is one of the best ways that people [...]
Q and A: Collective switching November 18, 2013 Q How does collective switching work? A The schemes bring lots of people together who want to switch energy suppliers, and then run an auction where firms can submit offer prices. A large group of people is an attractive target, so they can secure a better deal. Q Great, why hasn’t this been done before? [...]
Calls to whistleblower hotline for finance sector up 23 per cent November 18, 2013 THE number of calls to the Financial Conduct Authority’s so-called whistleblower hotline to report suspected malpractice rose 23 per cent last year. The FCA received 4,718 calls from staff at financial services firms in the year ending in August – up from 3,834 calls the year before, according to City law firm RPC. But RPC [...]
MPs to grill G4S and Serco amid criminal probe November 18, 2013 EXECUTIVES from G4S and Serco will be interrogated by a committee of MPs on Wednesday, as scandals surrounding government contracts continue to blight the two FTSE 100 outsourcing firms. Alastair Lyons, chairman of Serco will attend the hearing, alongside Ashley Almanza, chief executive of G4S. Paul Pindar, chief executive of Capita and Ursula Morgenstern, regional [...]
