RBS takes hard line on new EU bonus attack April 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S banks are at odds over how to tackle a harsh new crackdown on bonuses proposed by MEPs, with taxpayer-owned RBS most keen to take a strong stance against the bonus curbs. It is understood that RBS has made the case for intervening promptly to head off an amendment tabled by Austrian MEP Othmar Karas. [...]
Baker & McKenzie’s London arm sees profits fall by eight per cent April 4, 2012 OPERATING profit at City law firm Baker & McKenzie’s London arm fell by eight per cent in 2011 despite an increase in turnover. The firm’s LLP accounts, filed at Companies House last week, show that operating profit at the firm dropped to £41.7m in the year to 30 June 2011 from £45.4m the previous year, [...]
UK should sell off bank stakes April 4, 2012 BRITAIN must sell its Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds stakes as soon as possible because keeping them is allowing politicians to gamble with people’s money on bank shares, according to a lobby group representing taxpayers. “Clearly the best outcome for taxpayers would be if we don’t make a loss on those shares, but we [...]
Fears over EU hedgie rules April 4, 2012 THE EU ignored the advice of regulator ESMA in around 40 areas in drawing up a controversial new hedge fund directive, industry insiders said last night. Hedge fund and private equity bosses are angry over the draft of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) directive and want to see it redrafted. They also want the [...]
Consumers hit as oil inflates UK food prices April 4, 2012 FOOD price inflation started rising again in March after five months of falls, according to data published today, as increased oil and fuel costs pushed up transport expenses. However, non-food prices were lower than in the same month of 2011, as weak consumer demand forced firms to cut prices to battle for attention on the [...]
Greggs has a chance to profit from the coalitions’ pasty problems April 4, 2012 MOST of the time, our data shows that events in the political world have little impact on the public’s view of brands. Sometimes, however, they intertwine in unexpected ways. For example, towards the end of last year we saw Herman Cain’s candidacy for the Republican nomination for US President change perceptions of Godfather’s Pizza, the [...]
Wolfson prize: Top euro exit plans chosen April 4, 2012 HUNDREDS of economists took up the challenge issued by Lord Wolfson last year – to come up with a practical plan for a country to leave the Eurozone, minimising the pain for it and the remaining members. Five of those entries have made the short-list, which was announced yesterday, and, following further revisions on the [...]
Rift in a lift as Boris swears at Ken over tax avoidance claim April 4, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday called Ken Livingstone a “f***ing liar” in the aftermath of a bruising debate that touched on Johnson’s personal income tax status. The current Mayor of London came “nose to nose” in a lift with his Labour opponent after Livingstone, who has been dogged by accusations of tax avoidance on personal income, claimed that his [...]
WOLFSON PRIZE: THE SHORTLIST April 4, 2012 JENS NORDVIG Nomura Securities Jens and his colleague Nick Firoozye argue the treatment of foreign law debt contracts is of crucial importance because there is around €10 trillion outstanding. Their essay says debt contracts falling under national or local law should be redenominated into a new currency, while debt contracts falling under foreign law should [...]
Firms offered £1bn for new carbon projects April 4, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT has pledged £1bn of public funding towards its latest attempts to kick-start the fledgling carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry. Energy secretary Ed Davey yesterday invited companies to pitch designs for safely storing emissions from fossil fuel power stations, with an initial £1bn capital funding and £125m in research cash up for grabs. [...]
