Clegg disputes Trident spend as Hammond pledges £350m more October 29, 2012 DEFENCE secretary Philip Hammond yesterday announced a further £350m of funding to replace Britain’s nuclear deterrent – as Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg insisted that no final decision had been taken to progress with the project. Yesterday’s announcement means that £700m has been allocated this year to fund design work on a new submarine to carry [...]
EU regulators want Glencore concessions on Xstrata deal October 29, 2012 EU ANTITRUST regulators have told trader Glencore to offer concessions in its zinc operations to ease concerns about its planned $33bn (£21bn) buy of miner Xstrata, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. The European Commission, which handles competition regulation in the 27-member European Union, is currently examining the deal and has set a [...]
Million families learn of cuts to child benefit October 29, 2012 ONE MILLION families will learn that they are to have their child benefit payments cut, as the coalition’s plan to reduce middle class benefits takes effect. HM Revenue & Customs said yesterday it would begin sending the letters to households that it believes will be affected by the change, which is due to be introduced [...]
Mary Portas taskforce set up to revive UK’s ailing high streets October 29, 2012 LLOYDS Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland are among the firms to have joined a new industry-wide task force set up following the Mary Portas review last year to tackle the decline of the high street. The Distressed Town Centre Taskforce, which met for the first time last week, revealed its list of [...]
Santander’s Ana Botin joins Mayor charity October 29, 2012 SANTANDER UK chief executive Ana Botin will this week join the Mayor’s Fund for London as a trustee. Botin, who has led the UK subsidiary of the Santander Group for almost two years, will become a trustee on 1 November, after being nominated to the board by the charity’s patron, Boris Johnson. The Mayor of [...]
Infrastructure projects failing to attract pension fund cash October 29, 2012 INFRASTRUCTURE investment projects are still not set up in an attractive way for most pension funds to invest, the industry warned yesterday, despite the government spending the last year trying to persuade the funds to put money into big projects. “The aim is to create a fund for pension funds, creating a market for funds [...]
G20 risk disclosure suggestions aim to restore faith in banking October 29, 2012 A TASKFORCE set up by the G20’s regulatory arm, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), last night proposed seven recommendations to improve banking risk disclosures. The recommendations include listing risks from the bank’s business model, outlining sources of funding, how risk-weighted assets are calculated, forbearance of loans and how this affects the reported level of impaired or [...]
Where to get spooked in the City tomorrow October 29, 2012 WITH Halloween almost upon us, supermarket Asda has conjured up some facts and figures on the annual fright night. Given that the 31 October was a rather insignificant day in the British diary 10 years ago, The Capitalist was surprised to learn that the UK Halloween market is now worth £300m. Poor old Guy Fawkes [...]
Branson the slumdog billionaire October 29, 2012 AVIATION maharajah Richard Branson took to the streets of Mumbai for the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s new Mumbai-London service, which began yesterday. In typical Branson style he was decked head to toe in local dress and sitting on the roof of a taxi while Indian performers and cheerleaders danced around him. However, not even his [...]
Lending jumps as government scheme helps October 29, 2012 LENDING to individuals bounced back in September, data out yesterday showed, as the full impact of the Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) began to be felt. Consumer credit climbed £1.2bn in the month, the Bank of England said, in the second month of the government and Bank of England’s plan to boost lending. Analysts said [...]
