Why a wealth tax is a very bad idea January 22, 2012 EVERY few months, when the going gets tough for the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable renews his call for a “Mansion Tax.” With the LibDems slumping to a disastrous 9 per cent in a YouGov poll, against 41 per cent for the Tories and 36 per cent for Labour, it was no surprise to see him [...]
Labour: no Hester bonus January 22, 2012 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband yesterday challenged David Cameron to block a bonus for RBS chief executive Stephen Hester which many think will be around £1m. He said the coalition’s treatment of Hester would be a test. He told the BBC: “Taxpayers are still, you know, footing the bill for what’s happening at the Royal Bank [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU PLANS RAISE HOME FORECLOSURE RISK UK homeowners could face higher mortgage costs and find themselves at greater risk of foreclosure as early as next year because of an obscure clause in the bank capital directive being worked on by the European parliament. US FUNDS RETURN TO EUROPEAN BANK PAPER US money market [...]
Ian Powell set to renew PwC chairmanship January 22, 2012 IAN POWELL is expected to be re-elected unopposed as chairman of PwC for a second term, as no rival candidates have emerged nine days before the deadline for candidacies. “At this stage, it is not expected that a challenger will come forward,” a source close to PwC told City A.M., although any of the Big [...]
Greek debt talks could fail on new demands January 22, 2012 NEGOTIATIONS between financial authorities and bondholders may be derailed this week by the increasing demands of the European Commission, ECB and IMF. However, Charles Dallara, head of the Institute for International Finance (IIF), which represents investors holding around €200bn (£165.7bn) of Greek government debt, yesterday announced he “remains hopeful” that a deal will be reached [...]
Peacocks still searching for white knight January 22, 2012 PRIVATE EQUITY firms and buy-out groups are poised to make a bid for Peacocks, the discount clothing chain, which collapsed into administration last week. Its administrators KPMG will open the data room to Peacocks today, which will allow potential bidders to browse financial and other relevant data on the firm. KMPG expects to receive the [...]
Jobs fear cuts short protest January 22, 2012 THE protesters entered quickly and quietly in trademark style. They left with similar speed, however, when they realised their takeover of a City office block – owned by Berkeley Homes – risked adding to the ranks of the poor, rather than helping them. The takeover of Roman House in the Barbican was the shortest of the [...]
Romney vows transparency after defeat January 22, 2012 REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Mitt Romney pledged yesterday to release his tax returns this week, bowing to pressure from critics and hoping to make up for a misstep that helped rival Newt Gingrich win South Carolina’s primary race. Long considered the frontrunner, Romney stumbled badly in debates last week on his delay in disclosing his tax [...]
Giffords to step down to focus on her recovery January 22, 2012 US REPRESENTATIVE Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during a shooting spree in Tucson a year ago, said yesterday that she will step down this week from the US Congress to focus on her recovery. “I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona I [...]
Fitness First faces £550m restructure January 22, 2012 GYM giant Fitness First is restructuring its £550m debt pile just months after global market turmoil forced it to put off a float in Singapore. The chain, which is owned by private equity house BC Partners, is set to meet its lenders over the coming months because of an expectation it will breach the terms [...]
