CONFERENCE WHISPERS October 2, 2011 Second class MPs Journalists and MPs haven’t been the best of friends recently. So political hacks on the train to Manchester yesterday morning were more than happy to engage in a bit of petty one-upmanship. Virgin Trains were offering £10 upgrades to First Class, where passengers can use the WiFi connection for free. Allowing for [...]
Lloyds yet to see cut in red tape for SMEs October 2, 2011 BANKS have yet to see any progress on the government’s deregulation agenda for small businesses, according to the chairman of Lloyds Banking Group. During a fringe event of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Sir Win Bischoff (pictured) was asked whether he has seen an impact from government initiatives aimed at reducing red tape, like [...]
Increased minimum wage will cost jobs, say retailers October 2, 2011 THE NEW higher minimum wage will stifle job creation in the UK’s shops, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said. The national minimum wage was hiked by 2.5 per cent to £6.08 per hour, taking effect over the weekend. “This is a disproportionate rise which makes it harder for retailers to maintain and create jobs [...]
IoD: create jobs with 15pc tax on employers October 2, 2011 LOWER corporate taxes, lower state spending and protected infrastructure spending are among 15 measures proposed today by the Institute of Directors (IoD) which it believes would boost the economy. Launched by new director-general Simon Walker, the IoD’s 15-point plan to “return Britain to a growth trajectory” covers taxation, regulation, planning laws and education policy. The [...]
Confidence is low, says poll October 2, 2011 EXPECTATIONS of economic growth are weakening, according to 200 fund managers surveyed by Capital Spreads, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets is reporting low business confidence in a separate study, also out today. Fund managers are 18 per cent more pessimistic than they were in May, according to Capital Spreads. At the [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT CENTRAL BANK DECISIONS DO YOU EXPECT? October 2, 2011 LUIGI SPERANZA | BNP PARIBAS “Despite Eurozone inflation rising sharply from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent we remain of the opinion that the ECB will act boldly in the meeting this week. We expect a 25 basis point rate cut, the announcement of a 12-month LTRO and possibly a new covered bond purchase [...]
Star hedge fund Winton hits $25bn October 2, 2011 THE hedge fund run by star trader David Harding has defied the industry’s poor performance this year to make returns on investments of around 6.3 per cent so far. City A.M. understands that Winton Capital, which uses scientific research to spot patterns in market behaviour, has seen funds under management rise by about 45 per [...]
Reduced profitability for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley set to bite into bankers’ payouts October 2, 2011 MARKET turmoil is expected to have taken its toll on US investment banks in the past quarter, slashing revenues and bonus pots as the major Wall Street brokers suffer from shrinking trading volumes. Analysts expect Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to be hit particularly hard, with Goldman’s own proprietary investments seen as likely to record [...]
Intel agrees to buy Telmap October 2, 2011 Chipmaker Intel has agreed to acquire mobile navigation software maker Telmap, the chief executive of the Israel-based company said yesterday. Details of the deal were not disclosed but Israeli media said Intel is paying about $300m (£192m) to $350m. Telmap chief Oren Nissim declined to comment on the price and said the deal was expected [...]
Old Mutual mulls sale of Dwight October 2, 2011 Old Mutual Asset Management, a subsidiary of London-based investment company Old Mutual, is looking to sell Dwight Asset Management Company, according to Reuters. Dwight, which had $45.3bn (£29bn) in assets as of 30 June, is an institutional fixed income asset manager that specialises in stable-value funds for retirement plans.
