Miliband urges fresh bonus tax January 30, 2012 THE Labour party yesterday said Stephen Hester’s decision to forego his near £1m bonus must not be a “one-off episode” and called on the government to introduce new measures to crack down on high pay. Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday urged the coalition to adopt a bonus tax for bankers. He also called for a [...]
£1bn UK fund up for grabs January 30, 2012 LEADING investment fund managers are competing to control up to £1bn of UK government money, as part of a scheme that aims to make it easier for medium-sized firms to raise funds. The Treasury has called for applications to take part in its Business Finance Partnership (BFP) scheme, which aims to break the control of [...]
Bosses must engage with the media January 30, 2012 BANKERS, business people and CEOs – with a small number of exceptions – are proving useless at making their own case to the media and hence to the general public. It is frankly pathetic. Few members of our business and financial elite are willing to talk – and especially not on the record. At best, [...]
Autumn trial for Adoboli January 30, 2012 FORMER UBS trader Kweku Adoboli will stand trial in September after pleading not guilty to charges related to the loss of more than $2bn (£1.27bn) on trades the Swiss bank says were unauthorised. The trial, which is likely to shine a light on the adequacy of the bank’s management and risk controls, could land Adoboli [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 30, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HK IPO FOR SUNSHINE OILSANDS Sunshine Oilsands, a Canadian tar sands company backed by Chinese state-owned enterprises, has shunned Toronto and will next month launch an initial public offering in Hong Kong that could raise as much as $600m. The company plans to sell a 25 per cent stake in the offering, according [...]
Motorists face £100 speed fines January 30, 2012 Drivers could see speeding fines lifted to £100 as the government aims to raise an extra £50m a year to help victims of crime. Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke wants more to go to the victims’ fund, as part of an overhaul of victim compensation. The change would mean £60 fines, handed out to motorists caught [...]
MF Global said it was strong January 30, 2012 An investigation into the collapse of brokerage MF Global had revealed that the firm’s chief financial officer told analysts at Standard & Poor’s that its capital position had “never been stronger”, just a week before it filed for bankruptcy. MF Global collapsed on 31 October after investors and customers became rattled over the firm’s $6.3bn [...]
Aviva to cut jobs in fund management January 30, 2012 INSURER Aviva will shed 160 staff from its fund management business, with London suffering the bulk of the cuts, after deciding to focus its efforts on “core” operations. Around 12 per cent of Aviva Investors’ global workforce will lose their jobs during 2012 as the firm cuts niche investment products following poor demand for riskier [...]
Pension overhaul will fail to lower cost to public, says IFS January 30, 2012 COALITION reforms to government sector pensions will fail to reduce the burden on taxpayers and will actually become more generous to some public sector employees, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated. Planned changes to pension schemes will “increase the difference between the public and the private sectors,” the IFS stated this morning, with [...]
Federal Survey shows US banks are tightening credit to Europe January 30, 2012 MORE than two-thirds of banks in a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers said they had tightened credit to European financial firms in January, underscoring the continent’s banking crisis. The survey, published yesterday, also found US banks snapping up business from their beleaguered European competitors, scotching claims new regulations are hurting Wall Street competitiveness. [...]
