As BP faces difficulty at its Russian venture, is the country a safe place for UK investors? May 29, 2012 YES John McRoberts There has always been concern around election time in Russia but, now that Vladimir Putin is again President, I expect another period of stability. He has transformed the country, putting in place a new environment for business, built primarily on transforming the tax system. Personal income tax is now a flat 13 [...]
RAPID RESPONSES May 29, 2012 Support start ups [Re: Cheap money and more debt won’t help the young, yesterday] While I sympathise with Philip Salter’s concerns about taxpayers’ money being thrown at the government’s start-up loan scheme, some budding entrepreneurs will always need loans. I’d prefer that private lenders provide these loans, but for some reason this is not happening. I’m [...]
Hedgie hits out at record fine May 29, 2012 Hedge fund boss Alberto Micalizzi lashed out at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) last night, accusing it of demonising him after he was landed with a record £3m fine. This is the biggest ever penalty for an individual in a case of non market abuse imposed by the City regulator. It also banned him from [...]
BlackBerry maker hires banks to explore options May 29, 2012 Troubled technology firm Research in Motion (RIM) opened the door to a sale or break-up yesterday after appointing bankers to help carry out a review. The struggling BlackBerry maker has hired JP Morgan and Royal Bank of Canada as it said it could post a first quarter operating loss. The bankers have been asked to [...]
Surging labour costs are keeping UK unemployment high May 29, 2012 THERE is a straightforward reason why unemployment remains so high in Britain. Unit labour costs are rising – hiring someone to produce a set amount of output is becoming more expensive. And higher prices mean reduced demand – in the jobs market as in everything else. This may come as a bit of a surprise: [...]
Graff Diamonds $1bn IPO fails to sparkle yet May 29, 2012 BANKERS to the $1bn IPO of the Mayfair-based jewellery group Graff Diamonds said yesterday that the share issue did not yet have sufficient demand for the deal to go ahead. With just hours to go before the listing of the shares in Hong Kong, IPO bankers said the issue was just 50 per cent covered [...]
Facebook falls again as Opera deal talk swirls May 29, 2012 FACEBOOK shares yesterday dropped below $30 for the first time in yet another dismal day of trading for the freshly-listed internet giant. Shares fell by as much as 10 per cent, closing at a new low of $28.84 in a fresh blow for Mark Zuckerberg and the uber-hyped flotation of his Harvard-founded company. One reason [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 29, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Rockefellers and Rothschilds unite Two of the best-known business dynasties in Europe and the US will come together after Lord Jacob Rothschild’s listed investment trust and Rockefeller Financial Services agreed to form a strategic partnership. Kleinwort parent pressured to spin off assets The parent company of Kleinwort Benson, one of the oldest names [...]
Spain’s woe deepens as deficit rises May 29, 2012 Worries over the health of Spain’s banks kept its government’s borrowing costs dangerously high yesterday, while new data showed the budget deficit is rising as the state gives more money to cash-strapped regional authorities. In the latest sign of tensions within Spain over the state of the economy and the banks, Bank of Spain governor [...]
Jaguar Land Rover roars to record profits May 29, 2012 THE RECOVERY in Britain’s car industry accelerated yesterday when Jaguar Land Rover posted record annual profits of £1.51bn. The group sold 314,433 vehicles in the 12 months to 31 March, its highest ever figure and up by 29.1 per cent. Indian parent company Tata Motors also said it would increase investment in the firm to £2bn [...]
