WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 23, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES HARMAN COOL ON PLAN TO HALVE DEFICIT Harriet Harman has suggested that Labour should scrap its pre-election plan to halve the deficit by the end of this parliament, becoming the latest senior figure to intervene in the debate over economic direction. Labour’s interim leader said the UK was now in a “new situation” [...]
Fears grow over second EU debt crisis September 23, 2010 FEARS of a second European Sovereign debt crisis grew yesterday as economic data showed Ireland’s second quarter GDP fell while uncertainty over how the country will support its banking sector triggered a sell-off in its bond markets that sent gilt yields to a record high. The sell-off came after the Irish government signalled that holders [...]
Five ministers cut early deal with Treasury September 23, 2010 FIVE?departments have agreed budget cuts with the Treasury ahead of the comprehensive spending review (CSR), as the government gears up for the toughest fiscal tightening in Britain’s peacetime history. The foreign office, cabinet office and the Treasury itself have all reached early agreements on cuts. The department for communities and local government and the environment [...]
FSA hauls in bank execs over bonuses September 23, 2010 TOP officials from Britain’s largest banks have met at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to discuss the regulator’s proposed crackdown on banker’s bonuses and pay. Last month heads of remuneration from each of the top banks met at the financial watchdog to discuss ways in which the banks would adhere to the revised remuneration code, [...]
Three phone calls key to EMI dispute September 23, 2010 THE legal battle between Guy Hand’s private equity firm Terra Firma and Citigroup looks set to hinge on three phone calls Hands claims he received from David Wormsley, head of Citi’s investment banking division, it emerged yesterday. The case, which begins in New York on 18 October, centres on Hand’s acquisition of music label EMI [...]
Alexon reports improved trading despite flat first-half profits September 23, 2010 BRITISH fashion retailer Alexon posted a flat adjusted pretax profit for the first half as it was hurt by lower inventory levels, but said trading since the half year was encouraging. The company, whose brands include Ann Harvey, Eastex and Dash, said like-for-like sales rose 3.1 per cent for the first seven weeks of the [...]
Evolution set to chew over Panmure bid September 23, 2010 STOCKBROKER Panmure Gordon yesterday thumbed its nose at larger rival and potential bidder Evolution, insisting that it is firmly on track with its strategy as an independent firm. Evolution said that a “possible offer” for Panmure was one potential option being weighed up by the group’s board, led by chief executive Alex Snow, though it [...]
Germany’s largest steel firm quits Iran September 23, 2010 GERMANY’S biggest steelmaker ThyssenKrupp has joined a growing list of businesses which have withdrawn from Iran in response to ever-harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic. ThyssenKrupp said it would freeze all new business immediately and terminate existing contracts as soon as possible. It is the latest in a series of German companies to cut ties [...]
Google wins key piracy case in Spain September 23, 2010 GOOGLE yesterday won a landmark ruling when a Spanish judge threw out a claim it should be responsible for pirated content on its YouTube service. Broadcaster Telecinco said it had suffered as a result of hit shows appearing on the video-sharing website before they are broadcast in Spain. But a judge said the anti-piracy measures [...]
Zuckerberg: No Facebook phone September 23, 2010 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg quashed rumours his firm is ready to release a phone to compete with Google and Apple. The 26-year-old said he is only interested in “deeply integrating” Facebook services into existing phones and said he would have fired the source of the leak. But he refused to completely rule out a Facebook [...]
