From stamp duty to the triple lock, Andy Haldane says bold Burnham leadership can usher ‘vibe change’ for UK economy
Bailey calls for clearer aims October 4, 2011 Clear public policy objectives must be laid down if regulators want to create the best chance of achieving financial stability, executive director at the Bank of England Andrew Bailey told a conference at the Said Business School in Oxford yesterday. Bailey – who is also deputy head of the Financial Services Authority’s prudential business unit [...]
Buffett firms to post record annual profits October 4, 2011 SOME of Berkshire Hathaway’s largest units will post record profits this year, but the conglomerate’s housing-related businesses are doing as poorly as they ever have, chief executive Warren Buffett said yesterday. Speaking at a Fortune event, Buffett said Berkshire’s Burlington Northern rail unit, its MidAmerican energy unit, manufacturer Iscar and diversified group Marmon will all [...]
Switzerland is still world’s top tax haven says report October 4, 2011 SWITZERLAND, despite bank settlements with the US to disclose tax evaders, remains the top refuge for financial secrecy, according to a new international ranking of tax haven countries. Switzerland is the world leader in financial opacity, only grudgingly conforming with disclosure agreements among developed countries while courting tax evaders in developing nations, said a report [...]
Oligarchs fight for control of Russian railway October 4, 2011 TWO of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs are set to compete with each other in a multi-billion dollar auction for state-owned rail group Freight One, which goes up for sale at the end of this month. Steel magnate Vladimir Lisin, Russia’s richest man with a $24bn fortune, will bid for the Russian Railways unit via his [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 4, 2011 PwC Andrew Sentance has been appointed as a senior economic adviser at PwC, following his retirement as a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, effective from 7 November. Prior to serving on the MPC from October 2006 to May 2011, Sentance’s roles included director of economic affairs at the CBI, director of [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 4, 2011 ULTRA ELECTRONICS Goldmans Sachs says the US defence contractor is a compelling growth story in cyber security and airport IT systems, and gives it a “buy” rating with a target price of 2,200p. The broker expects better trading to boost earnings per share over the next three years by one per cent, six per cent [...]
Another low for the FTSE as banks and miners take a hit October 4, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a 15-month closing low yesterday, with banks and commodity stocks leading a broad-based sell-off, as growing doubts over Greece’s ability to stave off a debt default triggered fears of financial turmoil. The UK benchmark ended down 131.06 points, or 2.6 per cent, at 4,944.44, its lowest close since 5 July [...]
Wall St bounces despite volatility October 4, 2011 THE Standard & Poor’s 500 brushed up against a bear market yesterday, but investors rushed in to buy technology and other beaten-down sectors and the index posted its largest gain in more than a week. The broad US market index has fallen nearly 18 per cent in the past four months, hurt by sluggish economic [...]
Why Albert Einstein might have been wrong after all and why this really matters October 4, 2011 IT’S the reason the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars has to make the jump into hyperspace and the reason passengers on the Golgafrincham B Ark are in suspended animation in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Every author dealing with space travel has to work with or around Einstein’s speed limit. Nothing goes faster than [...]
Credit easing a sign that crisis worries Tories October 4, 2011 THE Eurozone crisis deepens by the day. Britain looks on, waiting for the nuclear fall-out that is sure to follow the explosion. Increasingly, I suspect the “credit easing” plan announced by the chancellor on Monday is a clear signal that the UK government expects things to get much, much worse. Ostensibly designed to help small [...]
