We need an export-led revolution to save the UK economy January 3, 2013 HAPPY New Year, dear readers. Let me begin my first column of 2013 with a plea to economists, policy-makers, commentators, politicians, financiers, business folk and everyone else who wants more growth and jobs. Please, please, spend less of your time obsessing about fresh ways to subsidise mortgages, pump prime the economy with more quantitative easing [...]
US fiscal cliff joy fades after Fed split on 2013 QE January 3, 2013 BUOYANT US traders were brought back down to earth yesterday after Federal Reserve minutes showed waning support for asset purchases in 2013, ending the euphoria felt by markets following Wednesday’s fiscal cliff deal. Meeting notes from the Federal Reserve monetary policy committee showed several of the 12 man group wanted to stop the Fed’s relentless [...]
Labour plot £1bn pensions raid to subsidise jobs January 3, 2013 LABOUR will today spell out a £1bn raid on the pension pots of wealthy savers to fund a jobs guarantee programme for 130,000 unemployed people. The plan, to be unveiled by shadow chancellor Ed Balls, would restrict the tax relief on pension contributions of people earning over £150,000 to 20 per cent, clashing with coalition [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 3, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES F&C’s Bramson lines up target Edward Bramson, the activist investor who is executive chairman of F&C Asset Management, is preparing to take on another midsized UK public company. He has launched a second Guernsey vehicle, backed by Soros Fund Management, that will sit alongside Sherborne Investors Guernsey A, the fund through which Mr [...]
Crackdown on mobile contract price increases January 3, 2013 MOBILE owners will be able to break contracts free of charge if operators hike prices mid-way through a deal under new proposals. Telecoms regulator Ofcom has lodged plans to put an end to mid-contract price rises, following an outcry over what consumers believed to be fixed deals. O2, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and Three have all [...]
Europe bears brunt of fall in investment banking revenue January 3, 2013 EUROPEAN investment banks were among the worst hit by the fees downturn in 2012, according to data released yesterday by Thomson Reuters. Worldwide fees fell by just 3.4 per cent to $74.8bn (£46bn) last year but the income from deals involving the UK, France and Spain slumped by more than 15 per cent. “The Eurozone [...]
More time for banks on Basel January 3, 2013 BANKS will get more time to build up cash buffers to protect against market shocks under a rule change that could help free up credit for struggling economies, a European regulatory source said. The Basel Committee, made up of banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries, is expected to announce the revision on Sunday to its [...]
Russian offer for Depardieu January 3, 2013 ACTOR Gerard Depardieu has been granted Russian citizenship after vowing to avoid the new top earners’ tax rate planned by French President Francois Hollande. Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted citizenship to the “Cyrano de Bergerac” star. Depardieu, 63, bought a house in Belgium last year to avoid the mooted French tax rate, which would [...]
Next shares hit fresh high over bumper Xmas January 3, 2013 SHARES in Next reached a record high yesterday after the high street clothing stalwart upped its full-year profit guidance and reported a strong rise in sales in the run-up to Christmas. The UK’s second largest clothing retailer said it expected to make profit before tax in the range of £611m to £625m in the year [...]
MPs slam rail performance January 3, 2013 THE DISASTROUS West Coast rail franchise contest proves the Department for Transport lacks “commercial nous” and it should consider outsourcing such tasks, MPs said today. In a wide-ranging review of the rail industry, the transport select committee also warned the DfT against hammering passengers with more price hikes, and claimed the sector’s obscure public funding [...]
