HSBC to close Jersey accounts in crackdown on tax avoidance March 17, 2015 HSBC has begun contacting thousands of holders of Jersey accounts who live in the UK in a bid to avoid accusations that it is helping to shelter money from tax authorities. Britain’s biggest bank has written to customers with such accounts to ask them to take proof of identity to a branch on the island, [...]
Missed this Israeli election? There will be another one along shortly March 17, 2015 ISRAEL’S General Election yesterday ended in a technical draw between the right-wing Likud party and centre-left rivals the Zionist Union. Exit polls for two of the three main TV channels gave both parties 27 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament). A third poll had the Likud slightly ahead, 28 seats to 27. The Joint Arab List [...]
Jefferies results spell bad news for Wall Street March 17, 2015 US investment bank Jefferies saw its first-quarter earnings slashed on the back of weak trading in fixed income bonds and a slowdown in capital markets, results revealed yesterday. Blaming a “tepid” bond market for a 56 per cent decline in fixed-income revenue to $126m (£85m) in the first quarter, the results will alarm Wall Street [...]
Banks’ London office footprint shrinks after heavy job losses March 17, 2015 Banks’ share of office space in London has shrunk by 13 per cent over the past decade as the industry struggles with heavy job losses in the wake of the financial crisis. A study by accountants Deloitte shows that the financial sector remains the biggest occupier in central London despite upheaval in the industry since [...]
New West End Company boosts board with retail appointments March 17, 2015 THE NEW West End Company has bolstered its board by hiring seven heavyweight retail executives to help oversee the regeneration of the busy shopping district. The lobby group, which represents retailers on Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street, said the new members included John Lewis retail director Andrew Murphy and Brian Duffy, the chief executive [...]
Chuka Umunna blasts Ukip as anti-business after CBI speech March 17, 2015 Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has branded Nigel Farage’s Ukip anti-business, due to its determination to take Britain out of the EU. He told City A.M.: “I do think Ukip is an anti-business party. There’s no doubt about that.” He was similarly critical of the coalition’s approach. “I think this government has compromised not only [...]
Desmond looks in the Mirror for Express sale March 17, 2015 RICHARD Desmond is selling the Daily Express, with Trinity Mirror leading the race to purchase the paper (pictured above in the glory days of Fleet Street). Trinity said: “There is no certainty that any agreement will be reached in respect of the range of outcomes currently under consideration.”
German politician Gesine Schwan supports war reparations for Greece March 17, 2015 A respected German politician has called on the country to pay war reparations to Greece, as well as repay an occupation loan to its central bank. “We should make a financial approach to victims and their families,” said Gesine Schwan, a member of the Social Democrats who are in coalition with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic [...]
Liquidity problems are the hot topic in Greece March 17, 2015 The crisis in Greece is deepening. What a difference a few months can make. Last year the country was able to tap the capital markets borrowing for three and five years paying interest of under five per cent. Its four main banks had received a cleanish bill of health in the European Central Bank’s Asset [...]
Moody’s warns of Grexit threat to Eurozone March 17, 2015 A GREEK exit from the Eurozone – or Grexit – would have “serious consequences” for the currency union, a major ratings agency said yesterday. Many analysts have suggested that the rest of the Eurozone are well insulated from a Grexit as European banks have cut their lending to Greeks. But Moody’s said the situation went [...]
