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 [...]
Merlin talks still on target, says Treasury February 8, 2011 GEORGE Osborne yesterday announced an £800m hike in this year’s bank levy, in a surprise move designed to “clear the decks” before the government signs a flagship agreement on lending and bonuses with the banks. The chancellor initially planned to introduce the £2.5bn-a-year levy at a reduced rate in 2011, yielding £1.7bn from the Treasury [...]
CHANGES TO THE BANK LEVY February 8, 2011 Q.WHICH BANKS WILL BE HIT BY THE LEVY? A.The revised levy will apply to UK banks on all equities and liabilities after a £20bn allowance is reached. It applies the same rules to the UK operations of foreign banks. HOW MATERIAL IS TODAY’S CHANGE? Initially, the rate that banks pay will be increased to 0.1 [...]
ARM suffers after bad note February 8, 2011 ARM shares dropped 2.62 per cent yesterday after Barclays Capital downgraded the stock from ‘overweight’ to ‘equalweight’, saying that, for the first time in years, the firm’s stock was fairly valued. He also raised his target for the stock from 370p to 650p. The downgrade followed a massive sale of stock by ARM chief technology [...]
American job openings slow February 8, 2011 US job openings slipped in December, according to official data released yesterday, but a decline in layoffs supported views of a gradual labour market recovery. Job openings, a measure of labour demand, eased 139,000 to 3.1m, according to a monthly labour market survey. “Yet the overall trend of this series still appears to be upward,” [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 8, 2011 Alvarez & Marsal The global professional services and turnaround consulting firm managing the Lehman Brothers Holdings bankruptcy has strengthened its European financial services group with the appointment of managing director Nils Melngailis (pictured), who joins from Parex Bank. Senior directors Agnès Hugot and Jose de Ochoa and senior associates Heiko Logisch and Ardeshir Mistri also [...]