ECB to resist rates cut this month but cave in October September 27, 2011 THE European Central Bank (ECB) will probably resist growing calls for it to slash interest rates next week, although a stalled Eurozone economy will force the bank to cut them early next year, according to an influential poll of economists. The escalating debt crisis and new signs that the economy has taken a turn for [...]
How the Eurozone bailout of Greece is turning into one big subprime mess September 27, 2011 It might look like a template for the inside of a pinball machine, but don’t let the diagram above disguise the facts. Markets and euro politicians are tying themselves in knots over one very simple problem: how to convert junk bonds into triple-A rated bonds. This quandary might sound familiar, perhaps because it was at [...]
Tories attack Labour party from the left September 27, 2011 MICHAEL Fallon, the Tory deputy chairman, yesterday said the private equity industry was “out of control” while Labour was in power – even though he earns £14,000 a year as a director of a private-equity owned healthcare firm. Responding to Labour leader Ed Miliband’s speech describing buyout firms as “asset strippers”, Fallon said: “Miliband and [...]
Is Osborne doing enough to boost growth in the British economy? September 27, 2011 This week we’re asking members of our Voice of the City Panel whether Conservative chancellor George Osborne is doing enough to promote growth. We also want to know whether the government is doing enough to champion the private sector. Is it as pro-business as people expected it to be before the election? And if David [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS ED MILIBAND RIGHT TO TARGET PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS? September 27, 2011 AARON PAYNE | CONVERGYS “People shouldn’t be penalised for working hard or being creative, or for using private equity firms to try and build their own businesses and drive more wealth for the country. If you target them, you are going to lose that creativity.” MICHAEL STEFAN | HANOVER RESEARCH “It’s a bit unfair to [...]
Outraged City hits back on EU audit plan September 27, 2011 PWC BOSS Ian Powell has lead the charge against the European Commission’s (EC) proposed shake-up of the accounting industry. Writing in City A.M. today, Powell says the proposed creation of audit-only firms could “create severe disruption and undermine quality and confidence”, and calls for more input from UK firms in shaping the final reforms. Other [...]
Barclays reshuffles execs as Oppenheimer departs September 27, 2011 DEANNA Oppenheimer, one of Barclays’ top female executives, has announced she will leave the bank. The American will step down as chief executive of retail and business banking (RBB) in Britain and Europe on 1 October. She will stay on as vice-chair of the division until the end of the year. Ashok Vaswani, currently chief [...]
Bid for NAB UK rejected September 27, 2011 NATIONAL Australia Bank (NAB) rejected a bid by Hugh Osmond’s Sun Capital for its UK assets before entering into its current talks with NBNK Investments, it has emerged. A source familiar with the situation said that the bid, which was around £2bn, was made in the last few months but did not go anywhere. NAB is [...]
House prices drop across 20 US cities September 27, 2011 HOUSE PRICES in almost every US city fell over the last year, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index, out yesterday. The 4.1 per cent decline in the year to July takes prices back to levels last seen in the summer of 2003. The value of single-family homes fell in 18 of the 20 [...]
No end in sight for suffering retailers as sales fall for five months in a row September 27, 2011 HIGH STREET spending fell again in September with the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) distributive trades survey, released yesterday, showing more retailers suffering from falling sales. Thirty-nine per cent saw sale volumes falling over the last 12 months, compared with 24 per cent who experienced an increase. That gives a balance of -15 per cent, [...]
