HSBC sells off Japanese arm December 20, 2011 HSBC this morning said it would sell private banking business in Japan to Credit Suisse for an undisclosed sum. Europe’s biggest bank said the value of the gross assets of the business being sold was £1.7bn at the end of October. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in mid-2012. [...]
CHRISTMAS IN JAIL FOR EX-UBS TRADER December 20, 2011 THE former UBS trader accused of a $2.3bn “rogue trade” was yesterday given more time to consider his plea. Lawyers for Kweku Adoboli, 31, said they were “not satisfied” he had received adequate legal advice from his previous team. Judge Alistair McCreath told Adoboli he must enter a plea on 30 January. Picture: REUTERS
Bank to press on despite EU legal threat December 20, 2011 EUROPEAN law continues to pose an existential threat to Britain’s overhaul of its regulatory system but UK authorities are determined to press on regardless, a paper by the Bank of England and FSA said yesterday. The paper said that new powers to be wielded by the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) will “be confined to areas [...]
Eurozone strife could prompt fresh easing December 20, 2011 THE BANK of England will consider extending its quantitative easing programme in February, a senior official of the Monetary Policy Committee said yesterday. A worsening of the Eurozone debt crisis could hit the UK through the banking system, Charlie Bean said, listing more asset purchases (QE) as one of the Bank’s likely responses. “At the [...]
PROTESTERS HAVE THEIR DAY IN COURT December 20, 2011 WAR veterans joined protesters to claim the former Old Street Magistrates’ Court as the fourth Occupy London site, yesterday. The group has renamed the building Occupy Justice and pledged to hold symbolic “trials of the one per cent”, including bankers and politicians blamed for the financial crisis. Yesterday they unveiled an armoured vehicle known as [...]
McGrath to quit as chair of Prudential December 20, 2011 THE CHAIRMAN of Prudential has finally paid the price for the insurer’s failed takeover of Asian rival AIA and said he will step down next year. Harvey McGrath will leave after more than a fifth of Prudential shareholders voted against his re-appointment in May. He became the focus of dissent after the $35.5bn (now £22.63bn) [...]
Morgan forgets about hacks as inquiry eyes up Murdoch December 20, 2011 PIERS Morgan denied knowledge of phone hacking during his time as editor of the News of the World yesterday, saying “the average editor is aware of five per cent of what his journalists are up to at any given time.” The CNN anchor told the Leveson inquiry he had no recollection of personal involvement with [...]
Cameron backs troubled taxman after damning report from MPs December 20, 2011 DOWNING Street has hit back at the committee of MPs which claimed the taxman had a “cosy” relationship with major businesses. A spokesman for David Cameron highlighted figures showing HM Revenue & Customs collected a “record” £468bn in tax last year. Its new approach has also been praised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and [...]
Where will our readers be spending Christmas? December 20, 2011 DAVID WOOTTON LORD MAYOR OF LONDON “I am going to spend Christmas day in Mansion House with all the family, including my grandchildren who are coming from Chicago. Boxing Day will be spent in Sevenoaks and then to a hotel in Kent for the family to enjoy. Lastly my wife and I will be spending [...]
Olympus looks to raise money December 20, 2011 Japanese camera company Olympus is preparing to issue around 100bn yen (£820m) in new shares to boost its bank balance and is reportedly looking to rival companies such as Sony and Fujifilm. The company’s president Shuichi Takayama also announced in a memo yesterday that Olympus’ directors will be taking cuts in renumeration of between 30 [...]
