‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
Osborne to slash spending in 2015 December 6, 2012 CHANCELLOR George Osborne will be forced to find £27bn in further spending cuts starting in 2015, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said yesterday. This came after Osborne admitted in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement that austerity would be extended for a further year to 2018. The IFS calculates that, on the chancellor’s current plans, achieving these [...]
Starbucks gives £20m to taxman December 6, 2012 COFFEE chain Starbucks yesterday offered to pay £20m in corporation tax over the next two years even though it records no UK profits, in an effort to calm MPs’ anger that it has not had to pay any for years. But tax lawyers warned the move sets a dangerous precedent with an arbitrary charge being [...]
Eurozone told to brace for another year of recession December 6, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) slashed the currency area’s growth forecasts yesterday, predicting another year of recession as the battered peripheral economies struggle to turn their fortunes around. President Mario Draghi now expects Eurozone GDP to fall by 0.3 per cent next year, well down on its previous forecast for growth of 0.5 per cent. [...]
Careful, chancellor: there is good austerity and bad austerity December 6, 2012 THERE are many reasons why the economy is underperforming. One of them is that George Osborne has been dishing out the wrong kind of austerity. Don’t get me wrong: the chancellor is right to want to cut the deficit by 9.2 per cent of GDP. But the speed and composition of the plans are wrong. [...]
Apple hit by Chinese iPhone sales worries December 6, 2012 APPLE’S market capitalisation fell below $500bn yesterday following news that the iPhone maker had fallen behind competitors in the crucial Chinese market. Although the stock recovered to finish slightly up yesterday, Apple has still lost more than eight per cent of its value this week, and is far below September’s $659bn value. Researchers IDC said [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 6, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Regulator sat in on Deutsche audits German regulators were briefed about Deutsche Bank’s valuation of a clutch of complex derivatives now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The revelation potentially sets up a transatlantic regulatory conflict with US investigators. Deutsche reiterated a statement that the allegations were “wholly unfounded”. The bank’s [...]
Pharma firms hit by EU ruling December 6, 2012 The European Union’s highest court has upheld a €52.5m (£42m) antitrust fine levied against AstraZeneca for blocking the entry of cheaper rivals to its then bestseller ulcer drug Losec. The decision is a blow for the British drugmaker and the wider pharmaceutical industry, which will in future have to take greater care not to overstep [...]
More bidders enter RBS sell-off December 6, 2012 Two private equity giants are to team up and enter the race for 316 Royal Bank of Scotland branches, it emerged last night. JC Flowers and Apollo Global Management, two of the biggest buyout houses in the world, are understood to be on the cusp of launching a joint venture to bid for the branches, [...]
US and Ireland tax evasion pact December 6, 2012 The United States and Ireland have agreed to share information about wealthy citizens’ financial accounts in a pact intended to combat tax evasion, another in a series of bilateral deals announced in recent weeks by the US Treasury Department. The deals are part of the implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or [...]
StanChart set for another $330m US fine December 6, 2012 SHARES jumped in British bank Standard Chartered yesterday, as it revealed its final fine for breaking US sanctions against Iran will be smaller than previously feared. It expects to pay $330m (£205.6m) to regulatory authorities including the Federal Reserve, the Department of Justice, the Treasury department and the local district attorney. That takes Standard Chartered’s [...]
