Libor fixers and lying traders to face €5m fines September 10, 2013 EUROPEAN MPs yesterday approved plans for huge fines for traders who manipulate energy and financial markets, the latest stage in the crackdown after Libor and energy market rigging scandals. Those found guilty of market abuse could be fined up to €5m (£4.2m) and be banned from working in the sector in future. And the companies [...]
Lagarde warns governments not to depend on easy cash forever September 10, 2013 EUROPE’S governments must push ahead with the banking union plans to solve some of the economy’s underlying problems, International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Christine Lagarde said yesterday. She warned them off permanently relying on easy money from the European Central Bank (ECB) which has mitigated some of their problems in the short term. “We very [...]
Top ECB official calls for more transparency September 10, 2013 PUBLISHING monthly minutes of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) meetings would increase transparency and help make policy decisions clear to markets, top official Jorg Asmussen said yesterday. The Bank of England and Federal Reserve both publish minutes after every meeting, giving markets more guidance on how their monetary policy decisions were made. The publications also [...]
Labour to vote on state control for Royal Mail September 10, 2013 TRADE unionists yesterday pledged to take the fight against the Royal Mail sell-off to the wire – and said they would call on Labour leader Ed Miliband to commit to renationalising the postal service if he wins the next general election. Dave Ward of the Communications Workers Union told the Trades Union Congress (TUC) his [...]
Top Lib Dem backs wealth levy to fund a raise in tax threshold September 10, 2013 DAVID Laws yesterday said the Liberal Democrats will need to introduce new taxes on wealth before they can fund further income tax cuts. Speaking ahead of next week’s party conference, the education minister said there would need to be a “rebalancing of the tax system” towards levies on property if the party is to up [...]
Watchdog tells gyms to make contracts fairer September 10, 2013 GYM members will be able to cancel their contracts more easily, after the Office of Fair Trading struck a deal with LA Fitness, Dave Whelan Sports and gym management firm Harlands Group. The companies have agreed to let customers end their membership if they lose their job or suffer an injury, and have pledged to [...]
Portas says pilot towns will fail without government action September 10, 2013 RETAIL expert and television presenter Mary Portas yesterday conceded that the chosen Portas Pilot towns would need more than funds to be revived and “could never truly succeed” without full government action. Portas’ review to save ailing high streets published last year has helped to create 27 so-called Portas Pilots – areas that have received [...]
Record-breaking hybrids take an early lead at Frankfurt September 10, 2013 HIGH-POWERED hybrid models have impressed motorists at the 65th Frankfurt Auto Show this week, with new vehicles from Porsche, BMW and Audi. Porsche unveiled the 918 Spyder, the £657,400 vehicle that has this week set a new record for a production car on the famous Nurburgring race track. BMW showed off its new i8, alongside [...]
ISG improves in difficult market September 10, 2013 Building group ISG reported a doubling of profits yesterday on unchanged sales of £1.2bn for the year to the end of June. The company made profits of £2.5m in the first half of 2013, up from 2012’s £1.2m. “After a difficult year in Europe, with a strengthened management team and the benefit of the newly [...]
Online gambling boosts NetPlay September 10, 2013 Online gambling company NetPlay announced interim results yesterday showing an increase in profit for the first half of the year of £2.3m, compared to £1.6m in 2012. “Our investment in mobile and tablet continues to deliver positive results,” said NetPlay chief executive Charles Butler. Revenue for the company improved 36 per cent to £14.2m in [...]
