Memo to analysts: you’re too bullish April 25, 2010 TO all the analysts out there, it is time to take a cold shower – that, at least, is the logical conclusion to be drawn from the latest issue of the Quarterly journal published by McKinsey & Co, the Jermyn Street-based consultancy. Ten years ago, the firm discovered that analysts were on average much too [...]
Diamond to testify in US April 25, 2010 A RAFT of high-profile figures from Barclays and Lehman Brothers will appear before a US court over the coming fortnight in a case to determine whether the British bank underpaid for the American firm. Bob Diamond, president of Barclays, will join former Lehman president and chief operating officer Bart McDade to run over Barclays’ dramatic [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 25, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOSCAFUND HAS EYE ON £500M OF MORTGAGES Toscafund, the London-based hedge fund founded by ex-Credit Lyonnais star analyst Martin Hughes, is raising capital to acquire up to £500m of UK residential mortgages. The group has already closed a £250m fund of UK sub-prime mortgages, launched late last year, sources told the Financial Times. [...]
Insurers protest at IMF levy April 25, 2010 Some of the UK’s largest insurers have lashed out at plans to enforce new taxes on the financial sector, branding them “absurd” and “unfair”. Legal & General, Aviva and Lloyds of London said International Monetary Fund plans for two separate taxes on financial companies – one to cover the cost of any future bailouts, and the [...]
Firms help investors beat tax April 25, 2010 British companies including Hargreaves Lansdown and Schroders brought forward £840m in dividend payments this year to help shareholders beat the new 50 per cent top taxation band, according to figures compiled by Capita Registrars. Capita said in total 40 firms shifted their payment dates to before 6 April in order to lighten the tax burden [...]
RBS will cave in to investor pay demands April 25, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) will toughen up its criteria for remunerating its top executives this week after a backlash from shareholders. The state-run bank has come in for fierce criticism for setting the bar too low for lucrative performance-related incentive packages to come into play. Now the bank will capitulate by putting the structure [...]
Newcomers welcome in the energy market, says Labour April 25, 2010 THE LABOUR PARTY has promised to end the domination of the UK’s “big six” energy suppliers if it wins re-election next month. At the launch of its “green manifesto” yesterday, Labour fleshed out its plans to promote competition in the energy sector and encourage progress to a low-carbon economy. It said it would open up [...]
London property boosts UK’s April sales increase April 25, 2010 HOUSE prices in England and Wales rose by an annual 1.8 per cent in April, their fastest pace of increase since January 2008, property data company Hometrack reports today. But monthly house price growth slowed to 0.2 per cent in April from 0.3 per cent in March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, according to Hometrack’s [...]
Euro states to take tougher line on Greece April 25, 2010 GERMANY and France yesterday vowed to take a hard line with Greece in exchange for financial support as doubts emerged over whether a €45bn (£39.2bn) aid package was sufficient to prevent a default. Greece bowed to intense pressure from financial markets on Friday, requesting funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in [...]
IMF warns it is shortsighted to oppose a global bank levy April 25, 2010 COUNTRIES that weathered the global economic crisis with their financial systems relatively unscathed are being shortsighted by opposing a global bank levy, the IMF’s chief said this weekend. International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn suggested a bank tax would be helpful in preparing for crises that could strike anywhere and indirectly criticised countries that [...]
