Lloyds dividend hopes face FSA scrutiny talks October 7, 2012 TAXPAYER-owned Lloyds Banking Group will go head to head with banking regulators next month to thrash out a deal on reinstating its dividend for the first time in five years. The bank, which is 43 per cent owned by the taxpayer, is currently negotiating with the Financial Services Authority about plans to give cash back [...]
Bumi directors set to receive first update on missing funds October 7, 2012 DIRECTORS of mining group Bumi, founded by Nat Rothschild, will this week receive their first update on the scandal engulfing the company. Thursday’s meeting in Singapore will be the first time the 17-member board has met since Bumi revealed it had found “financial and other irregularities at Bumi Resources,the Indonesian arm of the business that [...]
O’Donnell out of race to be Bank governor October 7, 2012 FORMER cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell last night pulled out of the race to become the next Bank of England governor, hours ahead of the application process closing at 8.30am this morning. Sir Mervyn King, the current governor of the Bank of England, will step down in June next year, and the Treasury has mounted an [...]
US blackballs Huawei over security risks October 7, 2012 US companies should avoid doing business with China’s Huawei, the world’s second-biggest maker of telecommunications gear, for fear its equipment could open doors for spying, the head of the US House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee said. “If I were an American company today … and you are looking at Huawei, I would find another vendor [...]
Romney scores boost in polls from TV debate October 7, 2012 US presidential candidate Mitt Romney appears to have narrowed the gap in the election race with President Barack Obama after a solid performance in last week’s televised debate. The first polls since Wednesday’s debate – in which Obama was seen to have given a lacklustre appearance – show Republican nominee Romney has had a bounce [...]
Spain faces fresh street protests as labour unions call for strike October 7, 2012 THOUSANDS of Spanish workers took to the streets across the country yesterday, in fresh protests against tough austerity measures. Spain’s biggest labour unions staged protests in 57 cities and have threatened to call a strike on 14 November if the government does not hold a referendum on unpopular spending cuts. Some 60,000 people attended the [...]
Manchester Utd and Take That boost £100m Wembley revenue October 7, 2012 WEMBLEY Stadium boosted its turnover to a record of nearly £100m last year, helped by a £3.5m windfall from Take That’s sellout tour and the 2011 Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona. The group behind the 90,000-seat stadium posted pre-tax profits of £83,000 versus a £12m loss the year previously. The small profit [...]
McLoughlin set to face MPs over failed franchise October 7, 2012 TRANSPORT secretary Patrick McLoughlin will be grilled by MPs over the collapse of the West Coast rail franchise deal at the end of the month. Louise Ellman, Labour MP and chair of the transport select committee, wants to bring McLoughlin and his permanent secretary back in front of the committee, following their appearance last month [...]
Effects of West Coast fiasco will take years to put right October 7, 2012 OH, to have been a fly on the carriage wall of the Virgin Trains service to Birmingham yesterday. So many political problems to make the Tory faithful green around the gills, mixed in with the swaying of the high-speed Pendolinos and the pungent aroma of the onboard buffet bar. Also feeling a little travel sick [...]
Dividend pay abandoned by more FTSE firms October 7, 2012 THE number of non-dividend paying FTSE firms is creeping back up to historic highs with nearly 14 per cent of listed firms now turning their back on regular payouts, research revealed yesterday. Data from Absolute Strategy Research, a City research firm, shows 13.8 per cent of firms on the FTSE 350 index have shunned dividend [...]
