Osborne mulls stripping FSA of its powers June 3, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) looks set to lose the majority of its powers, with George Osborne understood to be determined to push through plans to bring City regulation back to the Bank of England. The move, which is sure to anger business secretary Vince Cable who has voiced support for the watchdog, could be [...]
Facebook rules out an immediate float June 3, 2010 FACEBOOK chief executive Mark Zuckerberg yesterday said he had no date in mind to take the Internet social networking company public, and defended changes to the service that have provoked privacy concerns. The world’s largest social network last week unveiled a set of features to give its nearly half-billion users better control over what data [...]
Washington Post secures four bids June 3, 2010 AT least four interested parties appear to have submitted bids for Newsweek, the magazine that The Washington Post put up for sale on 5 May. Newsmax Media and Thane Ritchie, chief executive of Ritchie Capital Management, said they submitted bids. Private equity firm OpenGate Capital and Sidney Harman, the founder of audio equipment company Harman [...]
BNP Paribas in a bid to expand June 3, 2010 FRENCH banking group BNP Paribas has its eye on expanding operations in the UK as part of an effort to break into the top flight of investment banking. A newly created team of bankers will try to strengthen ties with 200 top corporate clients in the UK and across Europe, with a view to moving [...]
Top nations plan bank tax June 3, 2010 THE world’s top nations will back general principles rather than a specific tax to make banks pay for their own bailouts in future, finance ministers and diplomats said yesterday. The Group of 20 has pledged a string of reforms to financial regulation to avert a rerun of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s that [...]
Insurers slate new solvency rules as plead for clemency June 3, 2010 NEW rules governing solvency in the European insurance industry are the right way to go, but insurers should not be punished for bankers’ misdemeanours in the crisis, leading insurance executives said yesterday. Unlike banks, insurers did not pose a systemic risk to the economy and should be spared special taxes and stiff regulation of capital [...]
EU ministers set to back radical changes to Eurozone budget rules June 3, 2010 EUROPEAN Union finance ministers are likely to back on Monday changes to budget rules that will seek to discipline countries for having excessive debt as well as excessive deficits in future. A “Task Force” of ministers is to meet on Monday evening in Luxembourg to debate ways of strengthening economic governance in the 27-nation bloc [...]
GEITHNER GETS TOUGH June 3, 2010 US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner yesterday vowed to push for greater transparency and tougher capital requirements for the world’s biggest banks ahead of this weekend’s G20 finance ministers meeting in Busan, South Korea. Geithner also said that he would be lobbying hard for new restrictions on derivatives trading, as part of an attempt to toughen [...]
Services stall as recovery fears weigh June 3, 2010 HOPES of a strong recovery in the services sector were dashed yesterday after leading surveys suggested that April’s slowdown was not just a blip as a result of the volcanic ash cloud. The UK services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) only edged up to 55.4 in May from 55.3 a month earlier, while the US non-manufacturing [...]
Modest gains for house prices June 3, 2010 HOUSE prices rose just 0.5 per cent in May on the previous month, indicating that after a sharp recovery, the UK property market is finally starting to level off. The latest monthly figures from mortgage lender Nationwide revealed that house prices are now up 12.2 per cent from their trough last February and are less [...]
