Boris uses fringe speech to pledge loyalty to PM October 8, 2012 BORIS Johnson last night staged a rapturous election rally at the Conservative party conference, pledging his loyalty to David Cameron while leaving no doubts as to his own popularity among Tory activists. Johnson entered the busy hall to a standing ovation as the slogan “Mission Imborisible” was displayed over footage of the Mayor of London’s [...]
Osborne’s employment incentives idea is no game changer October 8, 2012 FOR once, the government managed to unveil a policy yesterday that had not been pre-leaked. George Osborne’s latest plan combines two ideas: it seeks to better align staff and employer incentives; and to make the labour market more flexible. Employers will be able to make new job offers conditional on – and offer to existing [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES TNK-BP partner look to sell stake BP’s billionaire partners in TNK-BP say they want to sell or list their 50 per cent stake in the business, creating more uncertainty over the future of Russia’s third-largest oil producer. Total arm warns over inaccuracies Total Oil Trading, one of the largest groups of its kind, [...]
Plan for housing benefit cuts to slash welfare bill October 8, 2012 GEORGE Osborne yesterday confirmed his desire to restrict housing benefit for people aged under 25 as part of an attempt to slash the welfare budget by a further £10bn. Osborne told the Conservative party conference that reform is necessary: “How can we justify giving flats to young people who have never worked, when working people [...]
Romney catches Obama in poll October 8, 2012 US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has clinched a four point poll lead on Barack Obama after his barnstorming performance in last Wednesday’s debate, according to the Pew Research Center. The latest national poll, carried out from 4-7 October , gave Romney and Obama both 46 per cent support among surveyed registered voters, while among likely [...]
Court hears of UBS slush fund chat October 8, 2012 A UBS trader raised the issue of a “slush account” in an electronic chat with Kweku Adoboli months before he was arrested over allegations he lost the Swiss bank $2.3bn (£1.4bn), a London court heard yesterday. Appearing as a witness at Adoboli’s trial, Darren Bailey rejected as “ridiculous” an accusation by the accused former trader’s [...]
IMF cuts global growth hopes on weak data October 8, 2012 THE IMF slashed its forecasts for world growth yesterday, on worries that gloomy data suggests a sustained slump in the global economy. World output will expand just 3.3 per cent during 2012, the international body said, down from its July estimate of 3.5 per cent. And next year will see growth rebounding to only 3.6 per [...]
Corporate governance mishap puts Reckitt boss in spotlight October 8, 2012 RECKITT Benckiser, the FTSE-listed consumer giant, could face a probe by the City watchdog after failing to alert the stock exchange that chief executive Rakesh Kapoor had pledged £8.7m worth of shares against a personal loan. The company behind household products such as Strepsil and Gaviscon admitted yesterday that in 2010 Kapoor had put up [...]
Aid is delaying bank overhaul October 8, 2012 STATE AID is postponing a necessary revolution in the banking sector, leading to stagnant returns, claims consulting giant McKinsey in a report out today. Bank revenues grew just three per cent last year – down from nine per cent growth in 2009 and 2010, and returns to equity dipped. One key reason banks are not [...]
BP sells off its Texas refinery October 8, 2012 OIL giant BP has agreed to sell most of its Texas City assets for $2.5bn (£1.6bn), severing ties with the refinery where 15 people were killed in 2005 and raising funds for the firm’s Gulf of Mexico clean-up fund. BP said the sale to US-based Marathon Petroleum would bring its recent divestments to $35bn. The [...]
