PPI mis-selling bankers to face banking commission grilling January 7, 2013 REPRESENTATIVES from the UK’s big four will face a grilling over the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal from a sub-panel of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS). The commission, headed by Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie, who also chairs the Treasury Select Committee, is looking for top executives involved in the retail side of the banking [...]
Markets lap up easing of bank liquidity rules January 7, 2013 BANK shares jumped yesterday after regulators eased incoming liquidity rules, giving banks more time to build up their buffers as well as letting lenders use a wider range of instruments. The aim of the rules is to make sure banks have a buffer of liquid assets big enough to match outflows of cash in a [...]
FTSE mettle is tested by slump in commodities January 7, 2013 AS THE markets settled into the first full week of trading of the year, the FTSE had its 2013 bull run checked, dropping 17 points yesterday. The commodity and miner-heavy benchmark index had been pushed to multi-year highs by the effects of a global risk-off sentiment, with the FTSE breaking the psychologically significant 6,000 level [...]
Banks steal spotlight despite weakness in FTSE 100 January 7, 2013 The FTSE 100 stalled this morning after closing at its highest level since February on Friday, with miners dragging down the index. In early deals, it was down around 0.25 per cent. A relaxation in bank liquidity rules dominated the headlines this morning, as regulators said last night that banks will have longer to build [...]
Jobs crisis as City hiring falls to record low January 7, 2013 CITY job vacancies plunged to new lows last year as incoming regulations took their toll on financial services firms, making 2012 a worse year for job seekers than even the height of the credit crunch, recruiters Astbury Marsden revealed today. Just 35,115 new jobs were advertised last year, down 35 per cent on the 54,025 [...]
January Bank rates are likely to stay steady January 7, 2013 THE European Central Bank (ECB) is likely to keep interest rates on hold when it meets for its first policy meeting this year, analysts predict. “We believe the continued improvement in the forward-looking survey data will have been sufficient to stay the hand of those on the council who last month were willing to wait [...]
The coalition’s lack of purpose has ruined our freedom to fail or thrive January 6, 2013 A SOCIETY must provide its people with certain basics, including security, food and shelter. A civilised society should also provide freedom. There is no precise definition of the term, but it is basically a status that allows people to do what they want, provided they do not interfere with the freedom of others. A market [...]
FTSE 100 slips as miners lead index down January 4, 2013 The blue chip index was broadly flat in early deals, as it failed to replicate its landmark day of trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 edged down by around 0.15 per cent this morning. Miners led the way down as worries that the US Fed might halt its monetary easing programme and concerns over US [...]
Rapid responses January 3, 2013 Corporation tax [Re: Is Sir Martin Sorrell right that corporation tax payments are a “question of judgement”?, yesterday] While Steve Barclay is right that the UK tax system needs reforming, tax is still solely a matter of legal obligation, not a function of public relations. Starbucks’s recent move to pay an additional £20m set a [...]
FTSE 100 flat after landmark day yesterday January 3, 2013 Following a stellar day yesterday for the FTSE 100 in which it tipped over the 6,000 mark, the leading share index was broadly flat in early deals today, although it still clung to the 6,000 level. Financial shares were strong risers on the blue chip index, with Aberdeen Asset Management, Legal & General and Hargreaves [...]