Bank of England offical Martin Taylor: Regulation will not drive big lenders out of the UK May 26, 2015 The Bank of England will not back down on tough regulation, top official and ex-Barclays boss Martin Taylor said in a speech published yesterday, dismissing threats from banks like HSBC that they could leave the UK for more welcoming shores. Some in the industry have started to argue that banks are now safe, and [...]
Moody’s sees a deficit struggle May 26, 2015 CHANCELLOR George Osborne may struggle to cut public spending as quickly as planned, according to ratings agency Moody’s. In a report published yesterday it said that most of the “low hanging fruit”, in terms of efficiency savings and reducing tax evasion, have probably already been picked. “We expect the budget deficit to decline continuously over [...]
Liberty’s John Malone nets his prey with Time Warner and Bright House Networks takeover blitz May 26, 2015 John Malone's Liberty empire owns scores of media assets around the globe, including Virgin Media in the UK Cable kingpin John Malone ended his long running pursuit of Time Warner Cable (TWC) yesterday by engineering a $90bn (£59bn) takeover blitz to create the US’s second biggest cable operator. Charter Communications, a vehicle of Malone’s [...]
Fairfield Energy boss to depart amid field closures in North Sea May 26, 2015 THE BOSS of North Sea-focused oil firm Fairfield Energy is to leave after two years at the top of the company. David Peattie joined the business from BP in 2013, having spent over 30 years at the oil major. News of his impending departure follows the announcement earlier this month that the company is decommissioning [...]
Lord Ashcroft May 26, 2015 In Inside Track (14 May) we incorrectly stated that Lord Ashcroft had confidently predicted that David Cameron was facing electoral annihilation and had left a dinner ashen-faced when it became apparent that this would not happen. We are happy to clarify that, while Lord Ashcroft discussed potential outcomes, he made no predictions during the event. [...]
Spreadbetter Plus500 bounces higher ahead of crunch shareholder meeting May 26, 2015 Crisis-hit spreadbetter Plus500 won the backing of top shareholder Odey Asset Management yesterday, ahead of a crunch meeting of shareholders today in London. An Odey fund run by James Hanbury added another tranche of shares to its holdings, taking the company’s ownership of the firm past 19 per cent, amid a broad-based rally in [...]
US shoppers feeling confident as new home sales stage recovery May 26, 2015 US CONSUMER confidence rose slightly in May, while sales of new homes in the world’s biggest economy surged, according to figures published yesterday. The consumer confidence index, published by the Conference Board, edged up to a score of 95.4 from April’s 94.3. “Most confidence indicators have fallen back over the past few months, but remain [...]
Shops most upbeat for 27 years May 26, 2015 RETAIL sales are picking up sharply, a study from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed yesterday, with firms’ expectations for next month at their highest level in 27 years. Orders to suppliers rose at their fastest pace since December 2010 in May, while sales are well above average for the time of year – the [...]
IMF tells China to let currency trade freely May 26, 2015 China’s government is being urged to liberalise more of its economy, and let markets operate more freely in its finance sectors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday urged the authorities to let its currency, the renminbi, trade freely, and asked the government to target a free-floating exchange rate in the next two to three years. [...]
Food price fall eases squeeze May 26, 2015 HOUSEHOLD budgets received another boost from falling prices last month, as food, drink, energy and travel costs all fell, according to Asda’s income tracker today. Summer holiday season got off to a flying start as airfares came in 5.3 per cent lower on the year, in part due to lower oil prices. And falling household [...]
