Arrests in UK, Sweden and US after takedown of darknet marketplace Silk Road October 8, 2013 A total of four men have now been arrested in the UK over connections to recently suspended darknet auction site Silk Road. That resulted from investigations and seizures by the FBI. Arrests have also been reported in Sweden and Seattle. Three of those men are in their early 20s, and were arrested in Manchester. A [...]
Tax havens are finished says SocGen CEO October 8, 2013 Societe Generale, chief executive, Frederic Oudea has told French television channel BFM that the days where individuals and company's could channel money into secretive accounts in order to avoid tax are over. Oudea said on Tuesday: With all the reforms today that have been done by various governments, tax havens – that is to say [...]
Bank’s Tucker says stress tests will be more important October 8, 2013 The Bank of England's Paul Tucker has said that bank stress tests will become profoundly important, and that they must incoporate international scenarios. Tucker said that if you "have an overseas bank operating a massive branch that probably ought to be a subsidiary" and that if ever a central counterparty fails anywhere in the world, [...]
Nationalised rail company returns £208m to the taxpayer October 8, 2013 Directly Operated Railways has returned £208.7m to the taxpayer after a huge increase in revenues. DOR, a holding company setup by the Department of Transport, took over the running of the London-Scotland route four years ago. Turnover has increased 4.2 per cent to £693.8m, total ticket sales were also up by 4.2 per cent. It [...]
Rates for Help to Buy unveiled October 8, 2013 Mortgage rates for the controversial Help to Buy initiative have been unveiled. RBS announced that it would be offering two and five-year fixed rate contracts at 4.99 per cent and 5.49 per cent respectively. Halifax is offering a two-year fixed rate of 5.19 per cent. The governments scheme will see taxpayers on the hook for [...]
Politicians to reject press self regulation October 8, 2013 It is likely that politicians will reject proposals for self regulation from the press, a source has informed the BBC. Conservatives and liberal democrats serving on the sub-committee of the Privy Council have said that the proposals brought forward by the industry were "flawed." The Privy Council is the body responsible for advising the Queen [...]
Saxo Bank warns of global slowdown in fourth quarter October 8, 2013 Analysts as Saxo Bank predict that despite central bank interventions, we won't see a sustainable comeback for growth until policymarkets stop supporting "the parts of the economy that don't need or deserve support". Instead, they recommend that support for "the most important engine of job and economic growth" is the focus, namely small and medium-sized [...]
Newcastle Uni brands students RUNTs October 7, 2013 Rebrands are tricky at the best of times, risking alienating customers or spending a fortune on a new logo nobody notices. But Newcastle University is sure to get noticed if some of its brand ideas make it to the public. It has applied to trademark the Research University of Newcastle upon Tyne [...]
Government shutdown could knock 0.6 percentage points off fourth quarter growth October 4, 2013 As the US federal government enters its fourth day of shutdown, economists at IHS Global Insight say that a shutdown lasting as long as a week could see GDP take a hit. They've said that assuming the shutdown lasts seven days, GDP growth should now be 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter (rather than [...]
Cadbury loses right to purple packaging October 4, 2013 Mondelez International which makes Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, has lost its battle with Nestle to keep the exclusive use of the colour purple in its packaging of chocolate products. The UK court of Appeals overturned a decision in 2012 that ruled the shade of purple was distinctive to the Cadbury Dairy Milk bars. The 2012 [...]
