UK banks sign up to tax code November 30, 2010 IN A last minute scramble the UK’s 15 largest banks have signed up to a government code of practice aimed at reducing tax avoidance, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said yesterday. The code, which had a deadline of 30 November, but until October had only been supported by four of the 15, requires the banks [...]
Jobs growth in resurgent Germany as rest of Eurozone continues to flounder November 30, 2010 EMPLOYMENT in Germany has reached its highest level since reunification – yet in other Eurozone countries, employment continues to fall, official data showed yesterday. In October 40.9m people were at work in the country, as the German recovery surges forwards. The number is up 405,000 on the previous year, an increase of one per cent, [...]
Oils and financials weigh on FTSE offsetting miners’ rally November 30, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading share index retreated yesterday with a rally by miners more than offset by falls in oils and financials as investors fretted over Eurozone debt problems during a choppy session. The FTSE 100 closed down 22.68 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,528.27, a level not seen since the middle of September. The blue [...]
Irish most charitable despite crisis November 28, 2010 IRELAND puts more time into philanthropy than other countries, despite its economic crisis, according to research published today. Twenty per cent of high net worth individuals in Ireland spend at least five hours a week doing charity work, more than anywhere else in the world. The research also shows that charitable spending is likely to [...]
There’s more pain and selling to come for banking stocks November 28, 2010 EACH time that European banks have taken a step towards recovery since autumn 2008, it seemed that they suffered another a setback. Whether it was revelations of bad debts, government bailouts, exposure to indebted sovereigns or tighter regulation, it has been hard for their share prices to make sustained headway. The second bout of the [...]
No bonus cut at Stan Chart November 25, 2010 EMERGING markets bank Standard Chartered yesterday distanced itself from talks between the UK’s biggest banks over limiting bonus payouts. RBS, HSBC and Barclays are reportedly in discussions with each other and the government over potentially cutting 2010 bonuses as well as lending more to businesses. The UK’s five biggest banks may also contribute up to [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS November 25, 2010 TRYING TO TIME THE MARKET IS COSTLY Research commissioned by Barclays Wealth has revealed that investors’ habit of chasing performance is costing more than one percentage point a year in returns. The study, which analysed fund flows between 1992 and 2009, discovered that market timing decisions by retail investors (when investing in equity mutual funds) [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS November 25, 2010 Grant Thornton Grant Thornton has appointed a new head of retail: Barry Knight. Knight brings 20 years’ of financial advising experience in retail, tourism and travel. He has worked for Littlewoods, Burton Group (now Arcadia Group), Sears, Selfridges, Jaeger and Boots. In his new role at Grant Thornton, he will be leading the retail team [...]
Slump in Japanese exports to harm GDP growth as inflation falls again November 25, 2010 JAPAN’S export market stalled in October, failing to grow on the previous month, it was announced yesterday. Compared to October 2009 Japanese exports grew 7.8 per cent, yet this was below the Bloomberg median projection of 10.7 per cent – and far weaker than September’s year-on-year growth of 14.3 per cent. Year-on-year improvements peaked in February, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 24, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYOTA STILL ON ALERT AFTER CRISIS Toyota remains on a “crisis” footing a year after the first of a wave of recalls of more than 12m vehicles, an executive at the Japanese carmaker has said. Shinichi Sasaki, the board member responsible for quality, told the Financial Times: “I don’t think the crisis is [...]