JOHNSON IS NEW IFS DIRECTOR December 2, 2010 PAUL Johnson is to be the new director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the thinktank announced today. Johnson will replace Robert Chote, who left to chair the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in the summer. Johnson said: “With the government facing an unprecedented fiscal deficit, having recently announced radical changes to public spending, [...]
TUX-CLAD SOLICITORS FLOCK TO FISH MARKET December 2, 2010 HUNDREDS of lawyers gave their well-worn tuxedos another outing last night as they gathered for the British Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week, with the barristers characteristically out-dressing the solicitors. Catching City of London law society chair Bill Knight sharing a drink with Norton Rose’s Sir David Lewis before the evening kicked off, The Capitalist [...]
Scot free… No censure for Fred the Shred December 2, 2010 SHAMED banker Sir Fred Goodwin escaped censure for his role in the near-collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) yesterday. After an 18-month investigation the Financial Services Authority (FSA) decided there was no fraud or dishonest activity by the former bank boss or his executives. It said a series of “bad decisions” were made, in [...]
News Corp tries to woo EU over Sky December 2, 2010 NEWS Corp has submitted a series of proposals to the EU in a bid to ease concerns over its proposed takeover of BSkyB. It is understood Rupert Murdoch’s firm is willing to be bound by strict competition rules to avoid gaining an unfair advantage over rivals. However, company sources downplayed speculation Murdoch could sell key [...]
BT retail chief joins the board at British Airways December 2, 2010 BT’S head of retail Gavin Patterson is to join the board of British Airways (BA). Patterson, who also has a place on the BT Group board, resigned as a director of Johnston Press last year. BA sales and marketing director Andrew Crawley, who was acquitted during the collapsed price fixing case in May, has been [...]
American International Group mulls return to the debt markets December 2, 2010 AMERICAN International Group (AIG) is considering another debt offering after the success of its $2bn (£1.3bn) sale earlier this week, its chairman Steve Miller said yesterday.‘In an interview at The Deal’s Deal Economy conference, Miller said, “Well, we’re having second thoughts,” when he was asked if the firm would tap debt markets again. AIG, once [...]
Gender pay audit plans are scrapped December 2, 2010 CONTROVERSIAL plans to force companies to publish the pay gap between their male and female employees were abandoned by government yesterday. In another Liberal Democrat policy U-turn, the government will not enforce the compulsory equal pay audits proposed in the Equality Act and will instead work with businesses to introduce a voluntary scheme. The government [...]
US oil spill panel says new safety culture needed December 2, 2010 THE WHITE House oil spill commission yesterday challenged offshore drillers to boost safety standards, detailing proposals for the creation of an independent, self-regulating industry group and reformed government oversight. Created in the aftermath of the BP drilling accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the commission said the entire offshore oil industry needed to increase its [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 2, 2010 VOLKSWAGEN S&P Equity Research has raised its 12-month target price to €145 from €125 and reiterated its “buy” recommendation on Volkswagen (VW) preference shares. It says VW remains in an excellent position in the medium term with what it expects to be €20bn industrial net cash at the end of the year, a strong double-digit [...]
Mouchel calls in Deloitte as austerity bites December 2, 2010 MOUCHEL yesterday confirmed Deloitte has been drafted in to examine how far the firm’s future income could drop, sparking fears it could follow Connaught and Rok into administration. The engineering consulting and design group has been rocked by swingeing cuts in government spending, resulting in the haemorrhaging of contract income. Deloitte was called in by [...]
