Rail bonuses row heats up February 5, 2012 JUSTINE Greening is set to become the first secretary of state for transport to vote at a Network Rail AGM, as the government steps up its opposition to large bonuses proposed for the group’s senior management. Greening said yesterday that she will exercise her right to vote against the bonuses at this week’s meeting, despite [...]
Why the debate has gone all wrong February 5, 2012 PART of the problem in Britain today is that public debate is taking place in a fact-less vacuum. People have no interest in what is really happening to investment bankers’ pay and prefer to ignore the regulatory revolution across all of finance, including banking, fund management, private equity, trading, accountancy and insurance. Take pay: as [...]
Deadline looms in Greece February 5, 2012 GREECE’S coalition parties must tell the European Union by today whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal as EU patience wears thin with political dithering in Athens over implementing reforms. Technocrat Prime Minister Lucas Papademos put on a brave face yesterday as he tried to get leaders of the three parties [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 5, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES RATING AGENCIES RAISE DOUBTS ON SCOTLAND SECURING TRIPLE A STATUS XtryAn independent Scotland would not be able to count on receiving triple A status, credit rating agencies have told the Financial Times, potentially leading to higher borrowing costs for it if a referencum on independence was successful. The three leading credit rating agencies [...]
Glencore bid talks focus on premium February 5, 2012 MINING group Xstrata could lose out on its merger with commodities giant Glencore if the two companies ignore Xstrata shareholders’ demands to be offered a decent premium, investors warned last night. The deal, revealed last week, could see a combined company worth £50bn with revenues of over £110bn. Xstrata chief executive Mick Davis is tipped [...]
As crunch time nears there’s still a lot left to be decided February 5, 2012 SO as expected, Xstrata’s shareholders are kicking up a fuss over the premium Glencore is offering to pay for the company, barely a year after blocking a similar deal before Glencore’s record listing last May. With current talks rumoured to be moving towards a premium as low as a single digit figure, investors are unlikely [...]
Romney takes Nevada vote February 5, 2012 Republican front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to an easy victory in Nevada over the weekend, crushing his three remaining rivals and taking firm command of the party’s volatile presidential nominating race. With support from a broad cross-section of Republicans, Romney won by a big double-digit margin over former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Representative Ron Paul [...]
Apprentices as valuable as Games: report February 5, 2012 THE UK economy would benefit more from a million extra apprenticeships than from hosting the Olympic Games, according to new research from City & Guilds. The survey – timed for the start of Apprenticeship Week 2012 this week – shows that, if a million more apprenticeships were set up by 2013, the economic benefit would [...]
LONDONERS FACE THE BIG FREEZE February 5, 2012 Londoners came out to play yesterday as the capital woke to a blanket of thick snow. Alexandra Park (above) was a popular spot for sledging, while City tourists at Bankside (right) took the opportunity to brave the cold and see London’s famous landmarks covered in white. The biting weather proved testing for Occupy London protesters [...]
Webster to step down as IHG chairman February 5, 2012 DAVID Webster, the long-standing chairman of Intercontinental Hotels Group, is to stand down after eight years at the helm of the world’s largest hotel group. A source close to Webster said that no date had been set yet for his departure, but that he is likely to leave later this year. The owner of Holiday [...]
