Australian mining tax clears hurdle November 23, 2011 A NEW Australian tax on miners that will cost the industry A$7.7bn (£4.82bn) over the next two years has passed its biggest hurdle so far. After 18 months of acrimonious debate that brought down former leader Kevin Rudd, politicians agreed to back Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s 30 per cent profit tax in return for minor [...]
Trap signs lucrative North Sea deal with Centrica and Nippon November 23, 2011 TRAP Oil has inked a potentially lucrative North Sea oil deal with energy heavyweights Centrica and Nippon, City A.M. can reveal. The AIM-listed company has been paid £2.5m in cash for its Kew exploration site and will retain a 20 per cent stake to give it a share of future earnings. The company is due [...]
Polymetal sets buyback price November 23, 2011 RUSSIAN precious metals miner Polymetal International, which recently secured a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, yesterday offered to buy back the minority investors in its Russian group for 531.15 roubles (£10.90) per share. Polymetal raised £491m when it floated in London last month and it is hoping to join the FTSE 100 index [...]
Hong Kong telco to raise £770m November 23, 2011 PCCW’S telecom business spin-off, HKT Trust, is raising $1.2bn (£770m) in a Hong Kong IPO, pricing the deal at the bottom end of an indicative range as global market turmoil dented demand despite the high yield offered. The dominant Hong Kong fixed-line operator will be able to use the money to expand the media business [...]
Lending on plastic drops November 23, 2011 CONSUMERS are repaying credit card balances more than they are borrowing on plastic, with many Brits “simply going without” new goods instead of adding to their debts. While £7.2bn was bought on credit cards in October, £7.4bn was repaid, according to data released yesterday by the British Banking Association (BBA). Across six months to October [...]
Bank holds stance for now yet QE3 may come in 2012 November 23, 2011 THE BANK of England’s interest rate setting committee voted unanimously to stick to its current policy stance this month, yet many analysts expect a further extension of quantitative easing (QE) early next year. Minutes of the Bank’s November meeting, released yesterday, showed all nine members voted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent and [...]
Gender pay gap narrows November 23, 2011 THE PAY gap between men and women has slipped below 10 per cent for the first time, according to official figures released yesterday. With women’s hourly rates rising more than men’s, the gap was recorded at 9.1 per cent in April this year – down from 10.1 per cent in April 2010. Furthermore, women working [...]
Approvals on UK mortgages in shock jump November 23, 2011 HIGH street banks unexpectedly increased their number of mortgage approvals last month, the British Banking Association (BBA) said yesterday. “Reports suggest that some activity may relate to growth in the buy-to-let market as rental yields improve,” the BBA said in its report. Mortgage approvals came in at 76,042, up from 73,334 the previous month. The [...]
What do you want Osborne to unveil next week? November 23, 2011 For this week’s readers’ panel, run with PoliticsHome.com, we want you to have your say on Osborne’s autumn statement, due next Tuesday. Would you like to see the chancellor cut corporation tax faster to support businesses, or would you prefer pensions tax relief for higher-rate earners? And should the government bring forward large infrastructure projects [...]
US consumers rein in spending November 23, 2011 US consumer spending barely rose October as households took advantage of the largest increase in income in seven months to rebuild their savings. The Commerce Department said yesterday that consumer spending edged up 0.1 per cent, slowing sharply from a revised 0.7 per cent increase in September.
