Stelios sends easyJet threats July 20, 2010 EasyJet owner Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou yesterday threatened to remove the budget airline’s “easy” brand if it didn’t improve its punctuality. In a letter sent to the airline’s lawyers, Herbert Smith, Stelios set a 17 October deadline for easyJet to improve its performance, claiming it was “completely unacceptable and contrary to the brand values upon which [...]
Hypo Real Estate to fail stress test July 20, 2010 Hypo Real Estate (HRE), the German bank nationalised during the financial crisis, is set to become the first bank to fail a European stress test. HRE, which is already being propped up with €100bn (£84bn) of public funds, is likely to need more capital from the German government to pass muster. Europe is testing how [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 20, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES STUDY POINTS TO PENSION GAP AMONG EXECUTIVES Executives at FTSE 100 companies earn retirement benefits that cost roughly twice as much as those offered to those in the FTSE 250, according to a study released on Wednesday. The study, prepared by actuarial consultants Lane, Clark & Peacock, looks at the way FTSE 250 [...]
Goldman sees profits plunge July 20, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs was yesterday accused of massaging its figures downwards to ease political pressure as it reported an 83 per cent collapse in second quarter net income. In what one observer described as a “well-orchestrated earnings announcement”, Goldman said net income for the three months to June came in at $453m (£297m), or 78 cents [...]
Goldman Sachs July 20, 2010 ALL good things must come to an end, but Goldman’s seemingly runaway success has screeched to an ungodly halt. Some might accuse the investment bank of massaging the numbers downwards to stop a witch hunt in its tracks, but spinning can only get one so far. Even stripping out the effects of the UK bonus [...]
Fabrice Tourre denies fraud allegations July 20, 2010 FABRICE Tourre, the London-based Goldman Sachs banker at the centre of a $1bn (£650m) fraud investigation, has filed court papers describing the case against him as “improperly vague, ambiguous and confusing”. A 13-page response filed by Tourre’s lawyers with US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denies almost all of the 74 allegations against [...]
Firms say new tax watchdog needs teeth July 20, 2010 BUSINESSES yesterday gave a warm welcome to the launch of a new body charged with stripping the fat from Britain’s bloated tax code, but warned it would need teeth to take on the Treasury. The chancellor launched the Office for Tax Simplification (OTS) yesterday morning, and said one of its first tasks would be to [...]
Budd: MPs should be given power to sack chair of OBR July 20, 2010 PARLIAMENT should be given powers to sack the chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility, outgoing chair Sir Alan Budd said yesterday. In comments that appeared to clash with George Osborne, Budd said it would be “perfectly reasonable for [the Treasury committee] to conclude that the chair is not fit to retain their role”. He [...]
Field defends offshore centres July 20, 2010 MARK Field, the Conservative MP, will today launch a defence of offshore financial centres, amid fears a draconian crackdown could hurt the City of London. Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate, Field will argue that small international financial centres like Guernsey, Jersey and Bermuda boost the British economy by providing investment and skilled workers. And [...]
MPs: Budget to hurt economy July 20, 2010 GEORGE Osborne’s austere emergency Budget last month has raised the probability of slower growth in the short term, an influential group of MPs said yesterday. MPs on the Commons’ Treasury committee also leaned on Osborne to rein back fiscal tightening if the economy does worsen. “It appears that there has been a slight increase in [...]
