Ed Miliband: Labour would have kept the 50p tax and is ready to break up banks September 30, 2012 IF LABOUR won an election tomorrow, it would keep the 50p rate of tax, introduce a new tax on bankers and spend the proceeds of the upcoming 4G spectrum auction on building 100,000 affordable homes, Ed Miliband said yesterday. But he would not commit to doing so if he wins the 2015 election, on the [...]
Auto-enrolment begins to shake up UK pensions September 30, 2012 BUSINESS lobbies, unions, and pension funds have backed pensions minister Steve Webb’s auto-enrolment scheme, as it is rolled out this morning. From today, firms with more than 120,000 employees must enrol all staff in a pension scheme, and by 2018 all employees earning enough to pay national insurance will have to be put in a [...]
Ed Miliband needs to stop distorting statistics September 30, 2012 IF you want to know why I find it hard to be optimistic about Britain’s economic future, look no further than the political parties’ annual conferences – this weekend it was the turn of the Labour party to pander to prejudice and envy and advocate policies that will end up retarding growth, reducing job creation [...]
What the other papers say this morning September 30, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES News Corp boosts compliance teams News Corp has hired a senior official from the Securities and Exchange Commission and an ex federal prosecutor to lead new compliance units, part of an internal shake-up at the company following the phone-hacking scandal. Gerson Zweifach, the firm’s chief compliance officer, created the framework and will announce [...]
Incentive Plan for Direct Line boss revealed September 30, 2012 Direct Line’s float plans, revealed on Friday, include a lucrative payout for chief executive Paul Geddes. The insurer, which gave a price range of its IPO at a lower-than-expected 160p to 195p per share, said Geddes is in line for a salary of £760,000 plus a bonus of £1.33m and even more in share awards. [...]
FCA head could charge bankers September 30, 2012 Martin Wheatley, the head of the new banking regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, has promised tougher clampdowns on bankers who flout regulations, raising the prospect of criminal prosecutions. “In the future we want individuals held to account,” Wheatley told The Independent newspaper. “If there are failures in the future we want individuals held to account,” [...]
Spanish budget shows no relief on rising debts September 30, 2012 SPAIN’S debt levels are set to increase further next year, putting further pressure on the government to apply for aid as it pours funds in to cash-strapped regions, an ailing banking system and rising refinancing costs, its budget showed over the weekend. In its 2013 budget plan presented to parliament, the government said that Spain’s [...]
EADS and BAE talk up benefits of a merger as deadline looms September 30, 2012 THE BOSSES of defence giants BAE Systems and EADS are this week ramping up their charm offensive as they race to set out detailed merger plans before a 10 October deadline. BAE chief executive Ian King and EADS leader Tom Enders wrote yesterday that the deal is “a combination borne out of opportunity, not necessity” [...]
Sharp drop in new Aim listings blamed on investor sentiment September 30, 2012 LONDON’S junior stock exchange suffered a significant decline in listings over the last year according to new research out today from accountancy group UHY Hacker Young. There were 36 new listings on AIM in 2011-12, a 42 per cent fall from 2010-11, when 62 firms listed. This is a 74 per cent decline from the [...]
Fallon to shame top banks into lending more September 30, 2012 BANKS will be named and shamed if they do not increase lending under the enterprise finance guarantee scheme (EFG), business minister Michael Fallon warned over the weekend in a letter to the UK’s five big banks. The government has offered guarantees of up to £500m on loans to small firms, but the new business and [...]
