Government in bid to stop a tax exodus February 22, 2010 THE government yesterday moved to reassure multinational firms that there will be no surprise tax changes if Labour wins the next general election, amid growing fears of an exodus of blue-chip firms. Chancellor Alistair Darling told an audience of chief executives – including GSK boss Andrew Witty, WPP chief Martin Sorrell and the LSE’s Xavier [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES SHELL STAFF DETAILS LEAKED TO CAMPAIGN GROUPS Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a serious breach of security after contact details for more than 170,000 employees and contractors were e-mailed to environmental and human rights campaign groups. The database, from Shell’s internal directory, gives names and telephone numbers for all the company’s workforce worldwide, [...]
EasyJet faces shareholder row over pay February 9, 2010 SHAREHOLDERS in easyJet have been urged to vote down the remuneration report at the airline group’s annual meeting next week by the investor advisory group Pirc. Pirc, which tends to take a tough line on executive pay, argues that various changes have been made to the airline company’s long term incentive programme without shareholder approval. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2010 FINANCE TIMES DE SHAW MOBILISES TEAM TO BUY DISTRESSED ASSETS OF FUND RIVALS DE Shaw, the third largest hedge fund, has established an in-house team to look at buying portfolios of distressed assets and is targeting the holdings of rival hedge funds. The DE Shaw Portfolio Acquisitions Unit, launched last year, aims to capitalise on [...]
Defender of business says a hung parliament would be disastrous February 7, 2010 HE MIGHT have parted company with the CBI four years ago, but Lord Digby Jones is still one of the staunchest defenders of the private sector. When he gives me his business card at the opening of a Vodafone store in the City, it is emblazoned with a motto that sums up his philosophy: “Only [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AXA PUTS SPOTLESS UP FOR SALE Spotless, the French maker of laundry and cleaning products, could become the latest “pass-the-parcel” deal between private equity groups, after Axa Private Equity put it up for sale with a €600m-€700m price tag. A recent recovery in debt markets has encouraged private equity groups to become more [...]
Lewis gets his way at M&B as Laffin goes January 28, 2010 THE scene was set for a venomous Mitchells and Butlers board meeting yesterday – and the key players did not deviate from the script. Simon Laffin, the chairman, knew his time at the helm of the pub chain was up. Sympathetic cheers from the swathes of minority shareholders packed into the ICC Birmingham would have [...]
Renowned City veteran Sir Mervyn Pedelty dies January 28, 2010 Sir Mervyn Pedelty, chairman of Friends Provident and a former chief executive of the Co-op’s financial arm, has died at the age of 61. After a long career in financial services, he passed away on Tuesday, after a long illness, just 10 days after his birthday. The former TSB executive was also an independent director [...]
Insurers say UK taxes may cause exodus January 26, 2010 INSURERS yesterday warned they could quit Britain unless the government cuts their tax burden as ministers unveiled plans to crack down on corporate tax evasion and improve the tax regime for firms with overseas operations. More companies may join the ranks of those who have already decided to move from the UK to financial centres [...]
MYNERS: WE DON’T WANT OBAMA PLAN January 24, 2010 CITY minister Lord Myners yesterday poured cold water on President Barack Obama’s bid to overhaul the banking rules, warning that Britain would not be following the proposed US reforms. Myners told City A.M. that efforts by the US administration to curtail banks’ investments in hedge funds, private equity and proprietary trading were “in no way [...]