BP not helped by Hayward’s silly slip-ups May 16, 2010 SOMEWHAT excruciatingly, BP boss Tony Hayward decided to downplay the volume of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. His tactic has not been universally applauded as the oil giant struggles to maintain a clean reputation. Hayward argued that the “amount of volume of oil leaking into the Gulf, is tiny in [...]
BP May 16, 2010 IT doesn’t rain it pours. Or in the case of BP, it spills. The situation facing the oil major goes from bad to worse. Chief executive Tony Hayward, initially credited with changing the firm’s reputation in the wake of the Texas oil refinery explosion, limps from one public relations disaster to the next. Analysts from [...]
Investors may flip homes to avoid taxes May 16, 2010 FLIPPING is set to become the norm amongst second homeowners, say tax experts, as they look to avoid paying the government’s planned increase in capital gains tax. “Flipping homes is a real possibility for second home investors and is one way of avoiding capital gains tax,” said John Whiting, president of the Chartered Institute of [...]
Buyout houses bring in help for £2.5bn RBS unit May 16, 2010 AMERICAN EXPRESS and Permira, the buyout house, are understood to have joined forces to bid for Royal Bank of Scotland’s £2.5bn payment processing unit. Vying with them for the asset is a team comprising French IT group Atos Origin and private equity operators CVC Capital Partners and Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe. RBS’ Global Merchant [...]
Stelios set to launch battle with easyJet May 16, 2010 A BITTER dispute between Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and budget airline easyJet escalated over the weekend after it emerged that the easyGroup owner plans to campaign shareholders to join his revolt against the airline’s fleet expansion plans. Haji-Ioannou is meeting this week with some of the airline’s largest shareholders, including Schroders, Standard Life and Capital Research, [...]
Soaring petrol prices to push up CPI inflation May 16, 2010 DRAMATIC rises in the price of petrol are expected to push the rate of inflation further above the Bank of England’s two per cent target when the official figures are released today. The price of unleaded fuel has jumped nearly 11 per cent since the start of the year, with diesel up 10 per cent, [...]
Senior civil servants to lose bonuses May 16, 2010 THE GOVERNMENT is planning to scrap bonuses for over 2,000 senior civil servants and NHS managers, as it gears up for a crackdown on public sector pay. David Cameron said the bonus pot for senior civil servants and NHS managers would be slashed by two thirds this year, lobbing £15m off the public sector wage [...]
David Cameron gears up for rebellion over fixed-term rule May 16, 2010 DAVID Cameron yesterday defended proposals to introduce a fixed-term five-year parliament that could only be dissolved if 55 per cent of MPs vote in favour, despite growing dissent among backbenchers that think the plans are undemocratic. The Prime Minister confirmed that both parties would whip their MPs and peers to support the legislation, paving the way [...]
Ed Miliband admits government failings as he launches campaign May 16, 2010 ED MILIBAND, the former climate change secretary, has admitted that Labour lost its way in government and became “caretakers” instead of “idealists”. Launching his leadership campaign with an impressive speech at the Fabian Society, he also conceded that the party had failed to face up to the concerns that trouble its traditional voters, such as [...]
ACTIVISTS BACK CLEGG May 16, 2010 LIBERAL DEMOCRAT activists yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favour of Nick Clegg’s decision to take the party into coalition government with the Tories, despite unease among some senior figures. Yesterday, former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy, credited with winning the party new voters in the 2005 general election, revealed that he refused to back the Liberal-Conservative coalition.
