Rage as Mubarak refuses to resign February 10, 2011 EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak refused to stand down last night, sparking fury across the country and fuelling talk of a military coup. Mubarak said in a televised speech that he would delegate powers to his deputy Omar Suleiman, but pledged to remain as leader until elections in September and repeated his vow to die on [...]
Euro debt crisis rears ugly head February 10, 2011 THE euro crisis moved dramatically back into the spotlight yesterday as a sharp spike in Portuguese bond yields at a €3bn (£2.5bn) debt sale forced the European Central Bank to plunge back into the market. After two weeks of inaction, the ECB swooped in to buy what analysts said could be up to €2bn worth [...]
Further audit rules planned February 10, 2011 AUDITORS’ work came under fresh scrutiny yesterday by EU and UK regulators. EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier told a Brussels conference he was preparing a directive for November to overhaul audit oversight. He said auditors should be more accountable to wider economic stakeholders – investors, stock exchanges, clients and suppliers – and auditors’ independence [...]
Some good news in a gloomy world February 10, 2011 BRITAIN is losing market share in global investment banking, retail banking and private equity – and has been hammered especially badly in hedge funds and energy trading, where firms and people have upped sticks to Switzerland. But it is not all grim for the City. Two areas that are still doing well are foreign exchange [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG SOCIETY PLAN “WILL NOT PLUG CUTS GAP” The Big Society Bank and other social finance initiatives will not be enough to replace charitable projects hit by government spending cuts, according to figures compiled by the Financial Times and the Young Foundation think-tank. Geoff Mulgan, former strategy director at Number 10 and head [...]
Barnier threatens bonuses February 10, 2011 THE EU’S new rules restricting bank bonuses might not be enough to limit risky behaviour, the bloc’s financial services chief Michel Barnier said yesterday. The French commissioner warned an industry gathering yesterday that the EU “will look into current measures on remuneration and we will look into whether or not it is enough”, alongside examining [...]
Briton to head up Olympus February 10, 2011 A British businessman will become head of Japanese camera-maker and technology group Olympus, the firm announced yesterday, as the firm tries to turn itself around following the downturn. Liverpool-born Michael Woodford, who has been with Olympus for three years, will take over as president when Tsuyoshi Kikukawa moves to become chairman on 1 April. Kikukawa [...]
More suitors emerge for Eon February 10, 2011 Utility giant Eon is thought to have fielded several fresh bids for its UK electricity grid distribution business. US energy supplier PPL, Hong Kong-based CKI and MidAmerican Energy Holdings, owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, were among those named yesterday as potential suitors for the business. All three firms already have operations in the UK. [...]
Russian IPOs pulled due to Egypt unrest February 10, 2011 NORD GOLD, the gold mining unit of steel giant Severstal, has become the latest Russian firm to scrap plans for a London initial public offering (IPO). The miner, led by billionaire Alexey Mordashov, is the latest casualty of the ongoing volatility in emerging markets, fuelled by unrest in Egypt. Nord Gold had been seeking to [...]
Two years of record low rates February 10, 2011 INTEREST rates will stay at half a per cent for the 24th month in a row, the Bank of England announced yesterday. Analysts were unsurprised by the decision to keep rates at a record low, but expect the meeting’s minutes, published on 23 February, to reveal a fractious and increasingly hawkish feel to the committee. [...]
