UK banks caught up in Obama supertax January 14, 2010 BRITISH banks are on the hook for billions of dollars under US government plans to hit Wall Street with a $117bn (£72bn) 10-year levy. Barclays Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC will fall within the scope of President Barack Obama’s charge, which is designed to recoup losses incurred by the Tarp scheme. Last night, [...]
Haiti death toll still rising January 14, 2010 AS many as 50,000 people are thought to have died in Haiti’s devastating earthquake and three million more hurt or left homeless, as rescue teams last night continued a race against time to find survivors. A British rescue team with heavy lifting gear and dogs reached the country yesterday but aid is so far only [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SIEMENs CHAIRMAN TO MEET INVESTORS Gerhard Cromme, chairman of Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, and the chief financial officers of both conglomerates will meet investors on Friday in an unusual joint move ahead of the first shareholder votes on executive pay in Germany. The meeting in Munich is considered extraordinary by investors as it highlights [...]
Oil and gas trade rules unveiled January 14, 2010 The top US futures market regulator unveiled its long-awaited proposal to crack down on speculation in oil and gas markets yesterday, setting position limits so high that they would affect only a handful of the most massive players, to the relief of edgy traders. In an effort to prevent excessive concentration in energy trading, the [...]
Website founder faces jail January 14, 2010 The founder of a global criminal website that traded stolen financial details is facing jail. Renukanth Subramaniam, 33, ran Darkmarket from an internet café in Wembley, enabling criminals to buy the stolencredit card details of tens of thousands of people. Subramaniam yesterday pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court to conspiracy to defraud and furnishing false [...]
Chips are up for Intel as profits lift shares January 14, 2010 CHIPMAKER Intel yesterday posted soaring fourth quarter profits, boosting hopes that the recovery in the technology sector is underway. The world’s largest computer chip company said sales had picked up strongly in the past three months, with revenues rising 29 per cent to $10.6bn (£6.5bn), beating analyst expectations of $10.2bn. Shares in the group rose [...]
Retailers fear long hangover following Christmas splurge January 14, 2010 BRITONS defied the recession to splash out on laptops, TVs, food mixers and robotic hamsters at Christmas, but retailers fear cutbacks this year as real incomes are trimmed by taxes rise and unemployment. Analysts rushed to upgrade 2009-10 profit forecasts for firms including electricals group DSG, household goods retailer Home Retail and bicycles-to-car parts chain [...]
Highest earners punished as London tops world tax league January 14, 2010 CITY workers paid £1m a year will be the worst off high earners in the world when the 50 per cent rate of income tax is introduced from 6 April. A Londoner on £1m will take home £300,000 less than someone on the same salary in Singapore, £130,000 less than a similar earner in Tokyo [...]
IDC puts itself up for sale January 14, 2010 US-listed global information provider Interactive Data Corporation (IDC), majority owned by media company Pearson, is believed to be seeking possible buyers. IDC’s stable cashflow and high profit margins are likely to prove of interest to private equity groups, with its fixed income and illiquid securities pricing business proving resilient in the recent recession. A sale [...]
WEF warns of fresh trouble January 14, 2010 There is now more than a one-in-five chance of another asset price bubble implosion costing the world more than £1 trillion, and similar odds of a full-scale sovereign debt crisis, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned yesterday in its annual report on global risks. It cited a sharp slowdown in China as one of the [...]
