Congress nears deal on swaps crackdown June 14, 2010 BANKS looked increasingly likely to face limits on swap trading as a proposal to rein in “risky” business practices gained traction among lawmakers negotiating a landmark Wall Street reform bill. In a rebuke to the banking industry, lawmakers yesterday were warming to a revised proposal from Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln that would force some banks [...]
Q&A: The escrow account June 14, 2010 Q. BP has been asked to put $20bn into an escrow account, what is it? A. An escrow account is a third party account set up to hold funds, usually in a bankruptcy, as a security measure to ensure relevant parties are paid during extraordinary circumstances. Q. Why has the US asked BP to set [...]
IFS: coalition could avoid a VAT increase June 14, 2010 THE government could bring the deficit under control without raising VAT, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). But a Lib Dem pledge to lower income tax thresholds coupled with Tory promises to ring-fence spending on health and overseas aid means the coalition will probably have to hike taxes. Responding to the Office for [...]
FIRMS WELCOME the OBR June 14, 2010 Business leaders welcomed the inaugural forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility yesterday, saying that the independent but official forecaster would help restore trust in public statistics. Richard Lambert, director-general of employers’ organisation the CBI, said: “This report injects a welcome dose of credibility and transparency into the fiscal and economic growth projections. “The forecasts [...]
Why Osborne won’t be saying sorry June 14, 2010 SORRY always seems to be the hardest word. That didn’t stop Alistair Darling demanding an apology from his successor yesterday. The former chancellor feels vindicated now the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has produced forecasts for public borrowing which are lower than the ones he unveiled in March. Sir Alan Budd, the OBR’s interim head, [...]
Cowdery eyes AXA synergies June 14, 2010 RESOLUTION will need to extract annual cost savings of more than £500m from AXA UK to make its takeover of the French behemoth’s British life and pensions business worthwhile, the investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted yesterday. Shares in Resolution, entrepreneur Clive Cowdery’s insurance consolidation project, were suspended after it confirmed its intention to pay £2.75bn [...]
Vantis shares suspended as crisis deepens June 14, 2010 VANTIS, the troubled accountancy outfit, is preparing a fire sale of its assets unless it can find an investor with a “wad of cash” to help pay down its £54m debt pile. The Aim-listed firm tumbled deeper into crisis yesterday when its shares were suspended due to doubts over its ability to continue operating. In [...]
When going public does not work out June 14, 2010 THE high-profile problems suffered by Vantis as a listed entity could deter other professional service companies from joining the public market, experts warned yesterday. Vantis’ share price has been hammered in the past year as doubts over its largest project liquidating Sir Allen Stanford’s assets, reputational issues to do with an HMRC probe into two [...]
Ex-Prudential executive to join the FSA June 14, 2010 LONG-time Prudential executive Tom Boardman has agreed to join the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as a senior adviser, responsible for overseeing life insurance regulation. Boardman until recently held the position of director of retirement strategy and innovation at the Pru. And in March this year, he was named to step up as a board director [...]
TfL bought out of Shard to make way for richer tenants June 14, 2010 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has accepted a multi-million pound payment in exchange for abandoning plans to move into the Shard of Glass development near London Bridge in 2012. The building’s owners, Sellar Property and the Qatar Central Bank, bought back TfL’s lease to allow them to cash in on rising rent prices in the capital. [...]
