What the other papers say this morning January 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FSA CHIEF SEEKS NEW SAFEGUARDS The head of the Financial Services Authority has called for a “radical rethink” of consumer protection in the UK, including the possible imposition of fee caps and bans on some retail financial products. The regulator has historically adopted a “light touch” approach for the regulation of financial products, [...]
Early election for Ireland January 24, 2011 THE IRISH government will bring forward its general election to late next month if the country’s crucial Finance Bill can be passed this week, with 25 February touted as a likely date. Opposition parties including Fine Gael and the Labour Party had threatened to bring an action of no confidence against Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s minority [...]
Jackson ousted from board January 24, 2011 Alexander Jackson, co-founder of UK hedge fund Polygon Investment Partners, has been ousted from the board of a listed credit vehicle he helped set up six years ago. Jackson was yesterday removed from the board of directors of Tetragon Financial Group (TFG) by its other directors. The Amsterdam-listed firm said the move was “a result [...]
Spain’s banks face nationalisation January 24, 2011 Spain’s savings banks have seven months to raise capital through private investors or the state will partially take them over, economy minister Elena Salgado said yesterday. Concerns that Spain’s savings banks, which account for 50 per cent of the financial system, will require an expensive bailout have fuelled fears it will need an EU/IMF-backed bailout [...]
Philips CEO is frontrunner for Vodafone January 24, 2011 THE RACE to succeed Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond looks set to be won by Philips’ chief executive Gerard Kleisterlee. Vodafone is believed to have shortlisted three people to succeed the mobile phone operator’s current chairman, with Kleisterlee topping the list as the British-based group’s preferred candidate. The announcement of Sir John’s departure from Vodafone [...]
Learning skills for business in school January 24, 2011 TO FURTHER its ongoing financial education initiative, the Institute of Chartered Accountants is launching a national business game in schools across the country. Nearly 250 schools have signed up to the Business, Accounting and Skills Education competition, which challenges 16 to18 year olds to play chartered accountant and produce business plans for fictional companies. “Building [...]
FSA freezes its staff payouts January 24, 2011 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) has frozen pay for its 3,300 staff members for a second year running, chief executive Hector Sants told staff in an email yesterday. The head of the FSA, whose £458m annual budget is funded by the firms it regulates, said only a handful of “very exceptional” cases will be considered [...]
Personal injury claims rise 72pc January 24, 2011 THE number of high-value personal injury claims has soared 72 per cent over the last five years, according to new statistics obtained by Sweet & Maxwell. The legal information firm says the statistics refer to claims in the High Court, which have a value of £15,000 or more, which have jumped from 715 in 2005 [...]
Two Britons reported dead among Moscow airport blast January 24, 2011 TWO BRITONS ARE said to be among the dead after a suspected suicide bomb attack at Moscow’s largest airport yesterday killed at least 35 people and injured more than 100. The attack took place at the Russian capital’s Domodedovo airport at around 16:30 local time. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev vowed to punish the attackers.
Card spending boom boosts Amex profits January 24, 2011 US CREDIT card lender American Express reported fourth-quarter profits of $1.1bn (£687.8m), up 48 per cent from $716m a year ago. An increase in the use of cards worldwide helped to drive card member spending up by 15 per cent to a record $1.2bn, from $1bn, reflecting higher merchant-related revenues. Fewer overdue payments also helped [...]
