Lawyers knock EU’s bank plan October 8, 2013 EUROPEAN plans to give a central body powers to wind up banks could breach existing rules, EU lawyers warned yesterday. Part of the plan for a banking union would see national regulators reduced to some monitoring activities and to implementing the instructions of a central authority. But EU lawyers have raised concerns over the plan, [...]
Dubai set to restart Palm October 8, 2013 DUBAI property developer Nakheel will soon restart work on its man-made palm-shaped island off the coast of the emirate, five years after the global financial crisis put a stop to the ambitious project. The move will be seen as a sign that optimism has returned to the global real estate market, but may also fuel [...]
Coalition rejects media’s bid for self-regulation October 8, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT yesterday rejected proposals for self-regulation of the press, paving the way for a system that will ultimately give the state a degree of control over Britain’s media. Culture secretary Maria Miller told the House of Commons that the newspaper industry’s own proposals could not meet the requirement for independence set out by Lord Leveson [...]
Goldman Sachs buys half of car insurer Hastings in £150m deal October 8, 2013 GOLDMAN Sachs’ merchant banking division yesterday bought half of British motor insurer Hastings in a deal that values the company at £700m. The Sussex-based insurer has previously made a point of handing shares to its staff, meaning thousands of employees are now set to enjoy a bumper payday. Goldman’s merchant banking arm will finance the [...]
Diane Abbott sacked by Labour for failing to stick to party lines October 8, 2013 DIANE Abbott was yesterday sacked as a Labour shadow health minister for her excessive criticism of party leader Ed Miliband. The high-profile MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said Miliband did not appreciate her interventions, before proving his point by using her departure to attack Labour’s immigration policy. “My settled view is that there no votes [...]
Foreign buyers take half of £1m London homes October 8, 2013 NEARLY half of prime central London homes sold for more than £1m in the year to June went to foreign buyers, according to research published by Knight Frank. However only 28 per cent of the buyers lived outside the UK, as opposed to foreign residents in the country. These buyers were mainly investors, looking to [...]
US lawsuit against oil majors on price fixing gains momentum October 8, 2013 A US judicial panel is expected to make a decision in a matter of days on where the consolidated lawsuits by US trading firms against oil giants BP, Shell and Statoil will be heard, City A.M. understands. Around ten plaintiffs, including Chicago-based commodity trading house Prime International Trading, individually sued the oil majors earlier in [...]
Bottom Line: Tale of two cities for foreign cash October 8, 2013 FOR A while now it’s been clear that prime central London almost deserves its own, ringfenced place on the map. House prices in the area – initially defined as Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea but often spreading further – have increased by 116 per cent in the last eight years according to recent research, massively outperforming [...]
Ernst & Young grows at fastest pace since 2008 October 8, 2013 ACCOUNTING and consultancy giant Ernst & Young posted a 7.7 per cent rise in global revenues yesterday to $25.8bn (£16bn), as it picked up more work in fraud investigations, advisory services and fast-growing countries. The firm said the pace of growth was at its fastest since 2008, with organic expansion across all of its businesses. [...]
Accountants call for tax amnesty to raise £17bn for state coffers October 8, 2013 CRACKDOWNS on tax evaders are not working and should be replaced with an amnesty, accountancy firm Crowe Clark Whitehill (CCW) argues in a new report out today. The group estimates more than £17bn is lost to the taxman each year, £12.95bn from accidental or careless evasion and £4.89bn through deliberate evasion. It argues an amnesty [...]
