Audit probe to report in 2013 October 16, 2012 THE COMPETITION Commission has given itself two extra months to investigate anti-trust concerns in the audit market, in a move that could delay plans for new EU laws. The commission has now penciled in January for revealing its preliminary findings, from November as first planned. The past month has seen a flurry of hearings and [...]
City Views | Is inflation going to fall back to Earth? October 16, 2012 NAVEEN SHARMA RBC Market conditions are very weak – business is doing poorly – and commodity prices across the world are rising. No one can be absolutely sure, but I think inflation is on its way back up. MOHAMMAD FARHAN KYNETIX Inflation is set to rise, based on rapidly rising fuel and food prices around the [...]
Wheatley’s new City watchdog shows its teeth October 16, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday unveiled its plan to regulate behaviour in the City, pledging to force companies to “put consumers at the heart of their business”. Martin Wheatley, who will be chief executive of the FCA when it is spawned from the disbanding Financial Services Authority (FSA) next year, outlined its approach. New [...]
Building society boss attacks BofE October 16, 2012 THE BANK of England should face more direct democratic oversight and take action to become more accountable and transparent, the Building Societies Association (BSA) said yesterday, voicing concern over powers the Bank is being given. Its Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is set to gain wide ranging macroprudential tools, allowing it to determine the levels of [...]
Float of Direct Line is official October 16, 2012 DIRECT Line Group yesterday completed its first day as a full listed company, marking the official completion of the largest London float in 2012. All 1.5bn shares in the firm were added to the official list of the UK Listing Authority, while it began unconditional trading under the “DLG” ticker. The share price has been relatively stable, [...]
Clegg insists boundary reform is dead October 16, 2012 LIB Dem leader Nick Clegg yesterday insisted that his party will vote against changes to MPs’ constituencies – a decision that will make it harder for the Conservatives to win an outright majority at the next election. Proposed changes to boundaries were published yesterday and a vote is scheduled for October 2013, but any change [...]
Moody’s stops short of Spain downgrade October 16, 2012 MOODY’S last night maintained its Baa3 rating on Spanish sovereign debt, one notch above junk, though it moved to a negative outlook. Moody’s said Spain should have access to the capital markets at reasonable rates while it turns around its economy, thanks to “the combination of euro area and ECB support and the Spanish government’s [...]
Greece prepares second wave of privatisations to raise cash October 16, 2012 GREECE plans to launch tenders to sell or lease a string of state assets, including its biggest refiner and two largest ports, as it battles to pay down debt and meet the terms of an international bailout. The deals will be a second wave of privatisations after six projects which are expected to complete in [...]
South pushes Eurozone into trade surplus October 16, 2012 THE EUROZONE swung into a trade surplus over the first eight months of the year, data revealed yesterday, driven by boosted exports from southern regions. The Eurozone’s trade balance was €46.9bn (£38bn) in surplus between January and August 2012, Eurostat said, up from a €26.8bn deficit over the same period last year. Spain, Italy and Greece all [...]
Blankfein’s caution proves risk-off banking is here to stay October 16, 2012 FOR a brief hour or so yesterday, the banking world was gripped by a success story. Goldman Sachs, which this time last year posted close to half a billion dollars in losses, threw its hat into a largely upbeat round of US results by almost doubling overall revenues and sending shares up in early trading. [...]
