ECONOMIST VIEWS: WILL THE BANK REVISE ITS FORECASTS THIS WEEK? August 8, 2010 JONATHAN LOYNES | CAPITAL ECONOMICS “I expect the growth forecast to be similar since the second quarter was strong, and it may even rise in the near term. The inflation forecast will have to rise, partly as a result of the VAT increase. Yet the Bank may see inflation at or below the target rate [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 8, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES US TO PAY BIG FOR WALL ST TIPS New US whistleblowing incentives within the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill – that could net informants multimillion dollar pay-outs – are likely to generate a surge in allegations against US-listed companies and Wall Street banks, lawyers say. The SEC is expecting a sharp increase in tip-offs [...]
Virgin Media set to sell its stake in UKTV August 8, 2010 VIRGIN Media is poised to sell its stake in UKTV, the digital broadcaster it jointly owns with BBC Worldwide. Chief executive Neil Berkett expects to net at least £350m from the sale of the firm’s 50 per cent share, as he seeks to offload non-core assets and focus on Virgin Media’s cable business. Berkett is [...]
Bankers: further pay curbs will cripple the City August 8, 2010 BANKERS are warning politicians and regulators they risk an exodus of talent from London if they put further curbs on pay in response to rising bonus levels. New ONS figures show financial sector bonuses in the five-month period between December and April in the last financial year were £10bn, up from £8bn in 2008. The [...]
Pru to boost payout after £760m profit August 8, 2010 PRUDENTIAL will smash profit forecasts and hike its dividend this week as it tries to win back investors’ confidence following its disastrous $35.5bn (£22bn) attempt to buy AIA. The insurer is expected to report first-half operating profits of more than £760m, the top end of City consensus, boosted by strong performance in Asia. Prudential has [...]
Connaught ponders debt for equity swap amid more losses August 8, 2010 BELEAGUERED housing maintenance firm Connaught will press ahead with talks with lenders this week to thrash out a last ditch refinancing. Among the options being considered is a debt for equity swap, which would hand control of the FTSE 250-listed company to its creditors. A person familiar with the situation said yesterday it would be [...]
Prudential August 8, 2010 SHAREHOLDER demands for a head on a spike may have subsided, but top man Tidjane Thiam knows there is no room for complacency. He is lucky to have wind in his sails for these results: by some estimates, sales have risen 30 per cent in Asia and 40 per cent in the US, with a [...]
BP achieves success with Gulf leak plug August 8, 2010 BP yesterday confirmed a pressure test on the cementing operation to plug its leaking Macondo well off the Louisiana coast had been successful. “[The test] following the cementing operations indicates we have an effective cement plug,” the company said. The news came as the US coast guard said clean-up efforts from the BP oil leak [...]
GDF Suez and International Power poised to announce merger plans August 8, 2010 FRENCH utility GDF Suez and British peer International Power could announce plans to merge as early as tomorrow. The two companies are both due to report first-half results tomorrow but the figures will likely be overshadowed by any update on the progress of tie-up talks. The two said last month they were working on a [...]
Rail cuts could harm recovery August 8, 2010 THE British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned business secretary Vince Cable that rash cuts to the rail network could harm the economic recovery. The strongly-worded letter, also sent to transport secretary Philip Hammond, said cuts to the transport network would strangle growth in the private sector and have a knock-on effect on the rest [...]
