Entrepreneur swoops in to bid for 180 Comet stores November 27, 2012 BUSINESS angel and entrepreneur Clive Coombes has emerged as a surprise bidder for around 180 Comet stores. Comet’s administrator Deloitte confirmed yesterday it is in talks with 43-year-old Coombes over a bid for the crisis-hit electronics retailer but said it was too early to say if it would result in a sale. The little-known entrepreneur [...]
King warns Carney of his tough future November 27, 2012 OUTGOING Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King yesterday welcomed the appointment of Mark Carney as his successor, describing the Canadian central banker as “outstanding”. But Sir Mervyn also warned that Carney is coming to the role at a tough time, as the economy is in poor shape and the Bank is taking on new [...]
King denies stamping on dissent in reign at Bank November 27, 2012 BANK of England governor Sir Mervyn King yesterday denied claims he crushes dissent at the central bank, insisting he has fostered an open, intellectual culture in his time in the top job. The outgoing governor also tried to defend his decision to let the Treasury take £37bn from the asset purchase programme, although he apologised [...]
Putting politicians in charge of the press would be a disaster November 27, 2012 WHO would have thought that in 2012, at a time when a technological revolution has allowed anybody to become a publisher, that politicians would seriously be mulling a return to the licensing of newspapers. The practice, last adopted during the English Civil War in 1643 and thankfully abolished in 1695, would be an affront to [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 27, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Moody’s faces curbs on Buffett links Moody’s faces a ban on rating products issued by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in an EU clampdown on alleged conflicts of interest at credit rating agencies. Last night the European parliament and EU member states agreed a draft plan to impose limited curbs on the sector that [...]
Tory minister plans massive building drive November 27, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S planning minister is calling for an enormous increase in housing levels in Britain in order to meet rising demand. Nick Boles, a Tory who was appointed to his role in David Cameron’s September reshuffle, will today reveal a plan to expand the area that property can be built on by up to a [...]
Green investment bank launched November 27, 2012 The UK’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) was launched today, announcing multi-million pound investments in waste management and energy saving projects. The GIB is backed by £3bn of taxpayer money to invest in “green” projects which private investors are unwilling to fund alone. Business secretary Vince Cable said the GIB “will place the green economy at the [...]
Government to hammer pensions November 27, 2012 George Osborne could slap pensions with any one of a welter of taxes in the Autumn Statement, tax experts told City A.M. yesterday, as part of the government’s plan to put more of the burden of austerity on the wealthiest people in the UK. The most likely measure the chancellor might adopt was lowering the [...]
Fitch cuts Argentina debt rating November 27, 2012 Fitch yesterday slashed Argentina’s sovereign debt rating to near-default status after a US judge ordered the country to pay holders of debt from its historic 2002 default. Fitch said a default was “probable” as it made a five-notch cut to Argentina’s debt rating, from B to CC. The ratings agency put a negative outlook on [...]
Usmanov seals London float as price struck low November 27, 2012 BANK advisers to Alisher Usmanov’s mobile telecoms group Megafon were last night expected to price the group’s shares at the bottom of a guided range, valuing it at around £7bn, in what is one of the largest share issues this year on the London market. Megafon is Russia’s second largest mobile phone group, controlled by [...]
