US markets rise on new hope of fiscal cliff deal December 17, 2012 US STOCK markets climbed upwards yesterday evening as hopes for a fiscal cliff deal rose. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 100.38 at 13,235.39, a rise of 0.76 per cent, while the S&P 500 was up 1.19 per cent and Nasdaq rose 1.32 per cent, after President Barack Obama and congressional Republican leader John [...]
HMRC slammed for call handling December 17, 2012 HMRC cost its customers £136m by keeping them dangling on the phone, a damning National Audit Office (NAO) report reveals today. NAO criticised the tax office for giving customers “poor value”. It found those who got through to HMRC in 2011-12 had to wait on average 282 seconds to speak to an adviser. Between April [...]
Tube strike set for Boxing Day December 17, 2012 LONDON Underground workers have voted in favour of festive strike action after peace talks over bank holiday pay collapsed, the Aslef union said yesterday. Tube drivers will walk out on 26 December, 18 January and 25 January after a ballot for a strike achieved 90 per cent support from members. The Boxing Day action could [...]
Insurer AIG to exit AIA after £4bn share sale December 17, 2012 INSURANCE giant AIG is today set to sell its remaining stake in AIA in a block offering worth up to $6.5bn (£4bn), exiting the Hong Kong-based business it founded almost a century ago. It is understood that AIG’s remaining 13.7 per cent stake in AIA is being priced at 29.65–30.65 Hong Kong dollars a share, below Friday’s [...]
Free and unlimited Wi-Fi comes to the Square Mile for first time December 17, 2012 UNLIMITED and free Wi-Fi will be spread across the Square Mile from today, following a new deal signed between the City of London and Sky’s The Cloud service. The move – which will bring wireless internet to 400,000 people in the City – comes after a successful trial of the service during the Olympics. The [...]
Deutsche Bank appoints Sir Richard Lambert as an adviser December 17, 2012 DEUTSCHE Bank has hired former Bank of England policy maker Sir Richard Lambert as a senior independent adviser, as the firm grapples with the effects of the sovereign debt crisis and a raft of new banking rules. Sir Richard was director general at business group the CBI from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, he [...]
Iceland indicts ex Baugur CEO December 17, 2012 ICELAND’S special prosecutor last night indicted the former chief executives of Baugur Group and Glitnir Bank for their roles in a loan approval, according to reports. The two ex-bosses, with two other directors at Glitnir, were charged with fraud, Bloomberg reported, due to their involvement in a 6bn krona (£29.3m) loan. According to the special [...]
Wall street falls silent December 17, 2012 The floor of the New York Stock Exchange was silenced for a minute yesterday at 9.15am as traders paused to remember and mourn the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings in Connecticut. Twenty children and six adults died in the attack by a lone gunman, the second-deadliest school shooting in US history.
Old Lady says QE programme is still working December 17, 2012 THE BANK of England’s mass asset buying scheme is still stimulating economic growth, it claimed in a research paper out this morning. The first two rounds of gilt-buying both successfully boosted the supply of broad money, the Bank’s quarterly bulletin showed, potentially lifting growth. But the fraction of purchases that leaked out of the transmission grew from [...]
Santander to shut 700 Spanish branches as it looks to cut costs December 17, 2012 SPAIN’S largest bank Santander announced yesterday that it will spend around €260m (£211m) to absorb subsidiary Banesto and will close 700 local branches as it tries to cut longer-term costs. Spain’s banks, hit by a slump in the property market and a prolonged recession, are trying to rid themselves of around €185bn of real estate [...]
