End of the road for London cab maker October 22, 2012 ICONIC London black cab maker Manganese Bronze yesterday gave up its fight for survival and called in the administrators, after failing to strike a deal with its Chinese partners to keep the cash-strapped business alive. The Coventry-based company, which makes the cabs through its subsidiary the London Taxi Company, intends to appoint PwC in the [...]
Europe will become ever less relevant as century progresses October 22, 2012 ONCE again, the political establishment is debating Europe, and what Britain’s place in it should be. To me, the answer is straightforward: Europe will become increasingly irrelevant to the global economy as the century progresses, a tragic development which will see one of the world’s great civilisations increasingly marginalised culturally and geopolitically. Those who still [...]
High-frequency trading does not boost volatility October 22, 2012 High-frequency trading (HFT) technology does not heighten market volatility or open the door to increased market abuse, according to a government report out today. The technique – which now accounts for a third of all UK equity trading – uses algorithms to make large numbers of trades and enables investors to profit from split-second moves [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BAE shareholders say chair must go A group of BAE Systems shareholders has demanded the resignation of chairman Dick Olver, saying sweeping changes are needed at the UK defence group following the collapse of its proposed merger with EADS two weeks ago. In a letter to the board, which has been seen by [...]
Cameron calls for BBC to fix row over Savile October 22, 2012 THE BBC yesterday came under further pressure to address allegations its bosses covered up sexual abuse claims levelled at the late Jimmy Savile, with Prime Minister David Cameron saying it had serious questions to answer. Cameron waded into the row as the editor of the BBC’s Newsnight current affairs show, Peter Rippon, stepped aside after [...]
Moody’s cuts Spanish regions October 22, 2012 ■ Moody’s last night cut the debt ratings of five Spanish regions, after maintaining its rating on the country at one level above junk last week. Andalucia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalunya and Murcia have seen their ratings lowered by one or two notches thanks to “very limited cash reserves… and their significant reliance on short-term [...]
FSA relaxes Solvency II timetable October 22, 2012 ■ British regulators have given insurers more time to get ready for Europe’s strict new Solvency II capital regime, anticipating that fights over the final shape of the rules could delay their introduction by two years. The head of the FSA’s insurance unit Julian Adams said firms will have until the end of 2015, rather [...]
Hague calls for re-think on EU October 22, 2012 ■ William Hague will today claim that the British public have never been less enthusiastic about the European Union. “People feel that the EU is a one way process, a great machine that sucks up decision-making from national parliaments,” Hague will say in Berlin. “That needs to change.” He will restate the government’s commitment to [...]
Permira to be new parent of Ancestry.com October 22, 2012 PRIVATE equity group Permira has splashed out $1.6bn (£1bn) on buying US-listed genealogy website operator Ancestry.com. The firm will take Ancestry private at $32 per share, a 10 per cent premium to Friday’s closing price. Ancestry’s chief executive Tim Sullivan and chief financial officer Howard Hochhauser will keep most of their shares in the firm [...]
Yahoo beats expectations in first results of Mayer regime October 22, 2012 YAHOO’S quarterly earnings came in well above expectations yesterday, in the first set of results since ex-Google executive Marissa Mayer took the helm at the troubled technology firm in July. Yahoo posted net income of $177m (£111m) in the third quarter, excluding a $2.8bn one-off gain from the sale of half its stake in Chinese [...]
