MPs launch finance education group January 30, 2011 THE first all-party political group (APPG) in support of financial education for young people will be launched today, with more than 100 MPs expected to pledge their support for financial education to be on the UK curriculum. The group, set up by Conservative MP Justin Tomlinson and launched with the Personal Finance Education Group and [...]
Dividends will jump this year January 30, 2011 DIVIDEND payments from listed companies are set to rocket this year, reversing a two year downward trend. Payments have been hit by the financial meltdown and the Gulf of Mexico disaster but will spring back this year, according to a new study by Capita Registrars. Dividend payments will hit £63bn – still lower than the [...]
Oil firms to set up safety body January 30, 2011 OIL firms will create an industry body responsible for overseeing safety in a bid to win around its battered public perception. The industry is now discussing whether the body should be linked to the American Petroleum Institute. That organisation was criticised for by the official enquiry into the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The US government will [...]
De La Rue vulnerable to takeover if new CEO fails January 30, 2011 DE LA RUE’S newly won freedom from bid talk could only be a temporary reprieve if its new chief executive, Tim Cobbold, is unable to turn the firm around, says a source familiar with the matter. De La Rue was only able to fend off a bid by its rival, Oberthur Technologies, last week by [...]
Balls defends Labour record on economy January 30, 2011 ED Balls, the recently-appointed shadow chancellor, yesterday launched a staunch defence of Labour’s economic record, insisting that high levels of public spending had not exacerbated the financial crisis. “There was no call from the Conservatives at the time, or from anyone else really, to have a fiscal tightening in that period [2007]. We went to the [...]
Lansley stands by NHS reforms January 30, 2011 ANDREW Lansley, the health secretary, yesterday admitted that his plans to shake-up the NHS carried a certain degree of risk, but insisted the real danger was putting reform on the back burner. He said the coalition would continue to increase spending on health in real terms, but that the NHS still needed to be overhauled. “We don’t [...]
Barclays boss Diamond coached by Mandelson January 30, 2011 LABOUR peer Lord Mandelson coached Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays, ahead of a high-profile public hearing earlier this month. Mandelson, who once said Diamond was the “unacceptable face of banking”, is understood to have offered only “informal advice” and did not receive any payments for his services. Diamond made waves at the Treasury select [...]
Shadow chancellor claims Mervyn King doesn’t agree with austerity measures January 30, 2011 JUST weeks into the job, and Labour’s new shadow chancellor is beginning to shape the argument on the economy far more than his predecessor Alan Johnson ever did. But Ed Balls’ key arguments are disingenuous at best. Here City A.M. picks them apart. 1. High levels of public spending did not cause the financial crisis. [...]
BP set to pay first dividend since Gulf spill January 30, 2011 BP is expected to restart its dividend payments alongside its quarterly results tomorrow, its first since the Gulf of Mexico spill last April. Analysts are expecting BP to report income of more than $5bn (£3.15bn) for the last three months of 2010. Chief executive Bob Dudley has strongly hinted that a shareholder pay-out is on the [...]
Smaller on just about every score: but oil major’s future is looking up January 30, 2011 LEANER and more focused. That is the vision for BP that Bob Dudley will sketch out when he unveils fourth quarter numbers tomorrow. Of course shareholders know that what the chief executive really means is smaller – on just about every count. The dividend will make a comeback, albeit at just 7¢ a share – half [...]
