Firms demand more pensions transparency December 12, 2012 TRANSPARENCY in pension fees is the best way to help firms and staff make the best choices on how they save, business groups told MPs yesterday. And they rejected a cap on charges in the Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on pensions auto-enrolment. “There may come a time when a cap on auto-enrolment charges [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 12, 2012 Westhouse Securities Finlay Thompson has been appointed specialist oil and gas salesman on the stockbroker’s institutional sales desk. He has 18 years’ experience in the industry, and has previously held roles at ABN Amro, Credit Lyonnais, Natixis and others. Quadrangle Phil Rance has been appointed corporate development director at the consultancy firm. He was previously [...]
Best of the Brokers December 12, 2012 TULLOW OIL Credit Suisse has cut the oil firm from “outperform” to “neutral” and has a new target price of £14.80. The broker sees a subdued end to the year for Tullow, with few opportunities on the horizon until the spring. OXFORD CATALYSTS Peel Hunt has lowered its rating from “hold” to “buy” and has [...]
FTSE surges to nine-month high on hopes of further stimulus from Fed December 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed at a new nine-month high yesterday, led by an energy sector buoyed by hopes that the US Federal Reserve would continue to provide stimulus for the world’s biggest economy. Oil & Gas and basic materials, which rise and fall with optimism over the economic outlook, combined to added over 13 [...]
Wall St flat as fiscal cliff fears remain high December 12, 2012 US stocks ended nearly flat yesterday, giving up most of the day’s gains after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy won’t be enough to offset damage from the “fiscal cliff.” His comments followed the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a new stimulus plan, which briefly pushed the S&P 500 to a seven-week high. The [...]
European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services December 12, 2012 WOLFGANG Schäuble, the German finance minister, recently said that “we can only achieve political union if we have a crisis”. His idea is to exploit the Eurozone’s sovereign debt problems to confer additional powers on the EU. And his most recent project is the “single supervisory mechanism” – otherwise known as banking union. EU finance [...]
Bashing City bankers has unintended consequences for middle England December 12, 2012 I HOPE, dear CityA.M. reader, that you occasionally manage to unchain yourself from your desk, rip yourself away from the trading floor, and escape from the shadows of the towers of Canary Wharf and the Square Mile. Because – and I hope this won’t come as a total shock to you – there is a [...]
New tax avoidance rule is a recipe for chaos and disorder December 12, 2012 THIS week’s draft Finance Bill gave a number of revealing insights into the mind of the chancellor and the direction the 2013 Budget will likely take. Among its contents was a long-overdue update on the general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) – the government’s much-hyped silver bullet for the scourge of tax avoidance. Over the past year, [...]
Should North Korea’s surprise rocket launch raise concerns over security in the region? December 12, 2012 YES Raheem Kassam There is no doubt that North Korea’s test will terrify the people of South Korea as well as other nations in the region. The West will not only be concerned by the threats and strains created by an emboldened North Korea, but also by the reaction of its partners. Over the past [...]
Rapid responses December 12, 2012 Urban renewal [Re: Decline in homeownership is the result of bonkers red tape, yesterday] Unfortunately, the housing shortage is London is not just an issue of “idiotic planning rules” but a fundamental unwillingness to allow the city to expand physically. The debate has artificially divided into supporters of the green belt and those who want [...]
