Spanish voters support Rajoy in home region October 22, 2012 SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy last night secured backing for his austerity drive in a vote in his home region of Galicia, but a clear win for nationalist parties in the Basque Country could soon prove a headache for the central government. According to exit polls, Spain’s ruling centre-right People’s Party was set to retain [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Lloyds eyes banker bonus shake-up Lloyds Banking Group is examining whether to ditch the concept of annual bonuses for senior staff and extend the timeframe of longer-term incentives to up to 10 years, according to people briefed on a project to overhaul remuneration. Xstrata unfairly disparaged says boss The board of Xstrata has [...]
Merkel backs Ireland on bank deal October 22, 2012 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny issued a joint statement yesterday reaffirming that Eurozone leaders would examine ways of improving Ireland’s bank rescue and recognising that it is a “special case”. The news will come as a boost for Kenny, who has come under pressure since Merkel said on Friday that [...]
Law firms shun private equity October 22, 2012 British law firms are unlikely to sell to private equity investors, a survey said today, dealing a blow to the buyout firms that are searching for deals in the sector. Some 77 per cent of law firms polled by legal publisher Thomson Reuters Sweet & Maxwell said they do not think private equity is an [...]
Beirut funeral leads to violence October 22, 2012 The state funeral in Beirut of an assassinated Lebanese intelligence chief, Brigadier General Wissam al- Hassan, ended in violence yesterday as angry mourners broke away and tried to storm the offices of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, prompting security forces to shoot in the air and fire tear gas to repulse them. The clashes fed into [...]
Nationwide is mulling its first bank purchase October 22, 2012 THE NATIONWIDE building society is considering buying the 316 RBS branches which are up for sale, joining a small field of potential investors. The building society has expanded by merging with other mutuals over the years – but it is not thought that a building society has ever before acquired a bank, or such a [...]
Banks struggling to cope with volume of PPI misselling claims October 22, 2012 CONTRACTORS hired by banks to process PPI claims are having trouble attracting and keeping staff, according to research published today. Annual staff turnover has reached more than 50 per cent at the outsourced contractors, financial services recruiter BrightPool said, as there are few staff available who are competent at processing claims and can cope with [...]
Credit Suisse and UBS could cut up to 7,000 jobs to slash costs October 22, 2012 UBS is to cut between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs as part of cost-saving measures to offset falling profit, while rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse may announce 1,000 to 2,000 cuts, according to a German newspaper. UBS plans to shed 900 jobs in information technology, alongside a further 2,000 to 4,000 layoffs in its investment bank [...]
Facebook exec checks out to front Tech City October 22, 2012 A TOP Facebook executive has fled the social network to head the government’s Tech City project, in a boost for Number 10’s plans to build a Silicon Valley rival in East London. Joanna Shields, Facebook’s vice president in charge of the social network’s European, Middle Eastern and African operations, will become chief executive of Tech [...]
Germans see Q3 economic growth despite headwinds October 22, 2012 THE GERMAN economy is likely to have grown in the third quarter despite a weak global backdrop, thanks to a strong performance by German industry and robust exports to areas outside the Eurozone. In its monthly report, the country’s Finance Ministry wrote today: “Expansion in German industrial production…likely gave significant growth impetus. Most analysts did [...]
