What the other papers say this morning October 1, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Call to pay bank bonuses in debt Banks should pay bonuses in debt, which would be wiped out if a bank failed, an EU banking report will suggest as Europe attempts to step up the fight against bankers’ pay. The Liikanen commission, an independent review set up almost a year ago by EU [...]
Miliband to focus on apprentices October 1, 2012 Labour leader Ed Miliband will today use his conference speech in Manchester to call on businesses to offer more apprenticeships and vocational training for the “forgotten 50 per cent” of youngsters who do not go to university. He is expected to demand that firms with government contracts provide apprenticeships, as well as touching on the [...]
Google surpasses Microsoft October 1, 2012 Trading yesterday pushed Google’s market capitalisation above Microsoft’s for the first time ever, making the search giant the world’s second largest technology company. Google rose one per cent to close at $761.78, implying a valuation of $249.9bn (£154.9bn) – while Microsoft shares slipped slightly to $29.49, pricing it at $247.2bn. Analysts put the development down [...]
US interest rates will stay low October 1, 2012 Federal Reserve governor Ben Bernanke yesterday reiterated the US central bank’s commitment to low interest rates going well into the future, “as long as price stability is preserved.” Previously markets have been boosted by similar promises, but this time the market response was muted. “[The] market [is] not popping like it used to on dovish [...]
Shareholder vents anger as Xstrata backs £56bn deal October 1, 2012 XSTRATA shareholder Thread-needle, one of the 25 largest stakeholders in the miner, yesterday slammed the recommended £56bn mega-merger with commodities trader Glencore. Xstrata yesterday backed the tie-up with Glencore, although with conditions. In a letter sent to shareholders Iain Richards, head of corporate governance at Threadneedle, which holds 0.29 per cent of Xstrata, said he [...]
Investor in EADS urges a review of defence merger October 1, 2012 EADS shareholder Lagardère, which holds seven per cent of the defence and aerospace company, has voiced its concern over the proposed £30bn merger with BAE. The Paris-based publishing group, whose chief executive is also chairman of EADS, said yesterday that it couldn’t see how the merger would create value for the aerospace group. It said [...]
Hester says Libor scandal is the last gasp of old banking culture October 1, 2012 RBS CHIEF executive Stephen Hester yesterday called his bank the “poster child for what went wrong in banking,” due to its leveraged balance sheet and the bailout it needed when the financial crisis hit home. But Hester said that the “era of over-reach” was coming to an end, and the scandals surrounding Libor and PPI [...]
JP Morgan hit by lawsuit for Bear Stearns October 1, 2012 JP Morgan Chase was last night hit with a lawsuit for fraud over faulty mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the former Bear Stearns. The lawsuit, filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, alleged a “systematic abandonment of underwriting guidelines” in the selling of home loans that went into securities offered by Bear Stearns. [...]
Revenues rise as profit dips at Ernst & Young October 1, 2012 BIG Four auditor Ernst & Young said today that spending on expansion has dented partner profits this year, though UK revenues have risen 11.3 per cent. E&Y said its turnover of £1.63bn for the twelve months to 29 June was the highest in six years. However, it conceded that profits per partner had suffered “a [...]
ING to close its emerging markets equities business October 1, 2012 THERE was further sign of retrenchment in the City’s financial services sector yesterday as ING Bank, which employs around 900 people in London, announced that it is closing its emerging markets equities business. ING, which acquired much of its expertise in eastern Europe when it bought Barings in 1995, is closing all its central eastern [...]
