The ostritch generation May 25, 2011 SIX in ten Britons have no financial plan for their retirement, fresh research revealed today, with experts blaming this lack of preparation on a “culture of dependency”. The UK is faced with an “Ostrich Generation” with 17 per cent of people admitting they have no idea where their retirement income will come from, and a [...]
Obama-mania grips Westminster May 25, 2011 AS THE first US President to address MPs and peers at Westminster, Barack Obama said yesterday that the global influence of the US, UK and allies would remain “indispensable”, in a speech in Parliament on the second day of his UK state visit. But he said that leadership would need to “change with the times” [...]
EU bond sees high demand May 25, 2011 INVESTORS scrambled to snap up a second €4.75bn (£4.1bn) bond issue by the EU yesterday, with the book oversubscribed to a value of €10bn by noon. The European Commission, which ran the sale, said the cash will go towards boosting the Eurozone’s main bailout fund, the Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. The EC said it saw “favourable [...]
UK hopelessly optimistic on pensions May 25, 2011 IT is hard to know what is most depressing about Britain’s approach to retirement. The findings of HSBC’s survey on the subject, released this morning, paint an all too accurate picture of an “ostrich generation” convinced it will be able to retire early despite not saving anything. How else can one describe a situation where [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRANSON WANTS 600 BRANCHES OF LLOYDS Sir Richard Branson has set his sights on buying a network of branches from Lloyds Banking Group as he attempts to go head-to-head with some of the biggest banks on the UK high street. Sir Richard met António Horta-Osório, Lloyds chief executive, on Tuesday and plans [...]
Lagarde confirms IMF bid May 25, 2011 FRENCH finance minister Christine Lagarde officially declared her candidacy for the leadership of the IMF yesterday, confirming speculation that she would make a bid to replace the ousted Dominique Strauss-Kahn. She appears to have few credible challengers, but her candidacy could cause controversy given that her appointment would follow the decades-old tradition that only Europeans [...]
Flights return as ash cloud clears May 25, 2011 Airports reopened and flights resumed across Europe yesterday as the ash cloud from Icelandic volcano Grimsvotn cleared. Berlin and Hamburg airports both reopened during the day, but Hamburg warned that “it is possible that operations will be limited” until a backlog of disrupted flights clears. Germany had seen 450 flights cancelled yesterday due to the [...]
Oil trader denies manipulation May 25, 2011 Oil trader Arcadia Petroleum has vigorously denied claims that it attempted to manipulate oil markets in early 2007, preceding a price rally that saw the price of a barrel soar over $140 (£85.90). The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sued two oil traders and their employers, Arcadia and Parnon, for an alleged manipulation [...]
Shell moves in on BP’s failed Rosneft deal May 25, 2011 ROYAL Dutch Shell is moving in on Russia’s Arctic energy reserves in the wake of BP’s failure to resolve its legal issues surrounding a tie-up with Rosneft, Moscow’s national oil giant. Shell chief executive Peter Voser met with Russian deputy prime minister and energy chief Igor Sechin as well as Rosneft chief Eduard Khudainatov yesterday. [...]
Rewards of up to $1m for US whistleblowers May 25, 2011 CORPORATE whistleblowers could score multi-million-dollar payouts for reporting financial wrongdoing under a new programme approved by US securities regulators yesterday. A divided US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to finalise the measure that has grown into one of the most contentious requirements of last year’s Dodd-Frank Wall Street overhaul law. Tipsters would be [...]
