The Wizard of Os: Merlin plan causes cracks in coalition February 9, 2011 GEORGE Osborne’s flagship agreement with banks over bonuses and lending – dubbed project Merlin – was thrown into disarray last night, after a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman was sacked for attacking the deal. Lord Oakeshott, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, was unceremoniously ousted after he said the agreement was “pitiful” and “not as tough as [...]
Merlin claims to boost lending to businesses February 9, 2011 HOUSTON, we have an agreement.” So joked one of the chancellor’s key allies yesterday, clearly relieved to have finally signed a deal of sorts with the four Merlin banks. But the government has got precious little for the weeks it has spent locked in negotiations with HSBC, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. Here City A.M. looks [...]
State-owned bank chiefs to take bonuses February 9, 2011 LLOYDS and RBS chose yesterday’s unveiling of the final “Merlin” project as the moment to disclose all-share bonuses worth several million pounds for their chief executives. Outgoing Lloyds chief Eric Daniels will take home £1.45m, less than two thirds of the bonus to which he is entitled, while RBS boss Stephen Hester will be awarded [...]
Varley plays dealmaker February 9, 2011 EX-BARCLAYS chief executive John Varley has driven project Merlin from the beginning, acting as the chair and chief organiser of the initiative. Barclays was never obliged to participate in Merlin, unlike part-nationalised RBS and Lloyds, causing a flurry of speculation over Varley’s enthusiasm for the project. New Barclays chief executive officer Bob Diamond was keen [...]
More merger mania as NYSE enters talks February 9, 2011 EXCHANGES worldwide are being swept up in an accelerating wave of consolidation after Deutsche Börse yesterday afternoon revealed it was in advanced talks with NYSE Euronext to create the world’s largest exchanges operator by revenues. Coming just hours after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Canada’s TMX Group said they would join forces to create [...]
Sipp at the cup of flexible savings February 9, 2011 A GROWING band of investors are taking the reins of their retirement planning, and are stashing their cash into self-invested personal pensions (Sipp). Forthcoming changes to pension rules, as well as the advent of auto-enrolment for lower-earners, will increasingly see people take control of their pension prospects, according to experts. “These [moves] are likely to [...]
Bernanke says QE has created 3m jobs February 9, 2011 AMERICA’S programme of quantitative easing (QE) has stimulated the creation of up to three million jobs, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defiantly claimed yesterday. Facing a barrage of questioning over the controversial scheme during a testimony at the House of Representatives, Bernanke cited “credible” simulation studies that show QE boosting the economy. Yet the outlook [...]
Nissan upbeat as profits fall February 9, 2011 NISSAN Motor’s quarterly profit fell 15 per cent on a stronger yen and sliding Japanese demand, but the decline was the slimmest among local automakers and it lifted its outlook on growing overseas sales. Nissan, which overtook Honda Motor as Japan’s second-biggest automaker last year, has been a standout particularly in China, where a line-up [...]
Government seals deal over bank lending and bonuses February 9, 2011 The government has reached an agreement with the largest UK banks on lending and bonuses. Under Project Merlin, banks will lend about £190bn to businesses this year. Of that £76bn will go to small firms, starved of lending. The Bank of England will assess whether the loans targets are met met. Chancellor George Osborne formally [...]
City slams tax raid on banks February 8, 2011 GEORGE Osborne’s shock move to hike his special tax on banks’ balance sheets was slammed by institutions and economists yesterday. They warned it would exacerbate the uncertainty hanging over the sector, making it harder for banks to budget, and constraining their ability to lend. The rate hike means the financial sector will have to pay [...]