WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 27, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PLEA TO BRUSSELS OVER AUDIT SHAKE-UP The heads of several midsized audit networks have issued a last-ditch appeal to the European Commssion not to dilute sweeping proposals aimed at reducing the dominance of the four biggest accountants and improving audit quality. In a joint interview with the Financial Times, the chief executives called [...]
US Black Friday sales up 6.6pc November 27, 2011 US Black Friday sales were 6.6 per cent up on a year ago, according to retail data and consulting firm ShopperTrak. The gains were the strongest since 2007 and topped last year’s weak 0.3 per cent rise. The firm, which instals monitoring devices in stores to gauge foot traffic, said many retailers extended trading hours [...]
City expects lower bonuses November 27, 2011 City workers expect their bonus to be equal to about a quarter of their salary this year, down from 35 per cent last year, according to a survey by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden. That translates to an average bonus of some £20,000 (assuming average pay of £83,000). However, managing directors think they will get bonuses [...]
Eurozone in rush to draw up fund rules November 27, 2011 EUROZONE leaders are hoping to stimulate demand for the debt of their bailout fund by rushing out newly drawn-up plans for how it will work. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was forced to cancel an auction of its debt recently due to little interest from investors, with details scarce on how its capital will [...]
Lloyds hire in line for £6m package November 27, 2011 LLOYDS has put a maximum £6m pay package on the table for George Culmer, its incoming chief financial officer, and is negotiating with his current employer, RSA Group, to enable him to join before his 12-month notice period ends. It is understood that the pay will be made up of a base salary of around [...]
CIC: China ready to invest in ageing Western infrastructure November 27, 2011 CHINA is keen to invest in the ailing infrastructure of Western countries, especially Britain, the chairman and chief executive of the Asian country’s sovereign wealth fund wrote in the Financial Times. “Now, infrastructure in Europe and the US badly needs more investment,” China Investment Corporation’s (CIC) Lou Jiwei wrote. He said while China had traditionally [...]
UK will guarantee banks’ debt to boost SME loans November 27, 2011 GEORGE Osborne announced £20bn of guarantees to banks in an effort to cut borrowing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises yesterday. He announced the “credit easing” idea in September’s conference speech, and has now made clear he hopes to cut SME interest rates by around one percentage point. “We are making available £20bn for the [...]
Small firms to be exempt from staff enrolment rule November 27, 2011 SMALL companies are to be exempted from the government’s automatic pension enrolment scheme, the chancellor is expected to announce tomorrow. The scheme will be rolled out from 2012, but allowing small firms to delay the changes should help them through the economic downturn without the additional burden of paying for more pensions. Ministers had previously [...]
Rail fare rises cut to 6pc November 27, 2011 COMMUTERS will gain slight relief in George Osborne’s Autumn Statement as he is expected to announce peak and season ticket price rises will be capped at a lower level. Rises will be kept below six per cent, it is thought, rather than the eight per cent previously anticipated. This will cost the Treasury £300m, but [...]
Pension funds look to invest November 27, 2011 TALKS are beginning to work out how the government can harness tens of billions of pounds in pensions funds’ cash to boost infrastructure spending, the Treasury and pensions industry announced yesterday. A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Treasury, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) signalling that [...]
