Morgan Stanley possible target for lawsuit over OW Bunker float March 5, 2015 MORGAN Stanley is one of the banks that could be sued by the Danish Shareholders’ Association (DSA) over the disastrous initial public offering (IPO) of OW Bunker in March 2014. The Danish marine fuel company, which was originally valued at $1bn (£656m), was rocked by scandal in November 2014 when it revealed it was facing [...]
2015 General Election TV debates in doubt as scrapping over line-ups and schedules rumbles on March 5, 2015 A serious of election television debates between party leaders is looking increasingly unlikely, as the impasse between political parties and broadcasters deepens. On Wednesday, David Cameron made it clear that he didn’t want a one-on-one debate with Ed Miliband, just a week before the election. Later that evening, Downing Street head of communications Craig Oliver [...]
E-books cannot have a lower rate of VAT, says European court March 5, 2015 E-BOOKS cannot have a lower rate of VAT applied to them, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled yesterday. The Luxembourg- based court was adjudicating on a case brought by France and Luxembourg, to try and have e-books subject to the same lower rate of VAT that hardcopy books are. However, ECJ judges said: “The [...]
TSB chief exec Paul Pester receives £1.9m March 5, 2015 New bank TSB’s chief Paul Pester received £1.89m in 2014, the bank reported yesterday. The boss’ salary came to £651,588, while his legacy bonus from Lloyds – paid up to June 2014 – came to £377,000. His TSB award was smaller at £36,167, in line with all staff who hit their targets then get a [...]
Local level cuts hit London and poorest hardest March 5, 2015 CUTS to local government spending will hit London boroughs harder than the rest of England, a think tank has said today. Spending per person has been cut by 23.4 per cent between 2009-10 (the year to April 2010) and 2014-15 when accounting for inflation, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said. But the size of [...]
Greek banks are safe for now as deposit outflows grind to a halt March 5, 2015 The worst may be over for Greek banks, with deposit flows looking to have halted at just over €20bn (£14bn). “Based on discussions we had with Greek banks, it seems that deposit outflows have abated last week following the Eurogroup decision on 20 February,” Nondas Nicolaides, a senior credit officer at ratings agency Moody’s told City [...]
UK rates held at record lows March 5, 2015 THE UK’S rate-setters yesterday decided against moving rates up or down from the 0.5 per cent rate where they have sat since 2009. “At a time when inflation is falling and may temporarily enter negative territory, there is no strong argument for considering higher rates. Although wages are now rising, the scale of this increase [...]
Scant supply of homes pushes prices higher March 5, 2015 RISING incomes, stamp duty changes and a supply shortage are putting upward pressure on house prices, new figures show. The average house price rose 8.3 per cent in February compared to February 2014, according to data released yesterday by mortgage lender Halifax. It marks a slight slowdown in growth from the 8.5 per cent year-on-year [...]
Confident consumers fuel record growth of new car registrations March 5, 2015 Confident UK consumers bought 76,958 new cars in February, 12 per cent more than in February last year. The figures released yesterday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that February was the 36th consecutive month of growth in new car purchases. “Three years of continuous growth in the new car market is [...]
Aviva rebounds from restructure and regulations March 5, 2015 AVIVA has turned a corner but still has a long way to go said chief executive Mark Wilson as the company reported a rise in profits yesterday. The insurance giant boosted its dividend by 30 per cent and its strong figures for 2014 pushed shares up 7.05 per cent at the close. The company has [...]
