WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BP DELAYS LIBYA DEEP WATER PLAN BP has delayed its plans to explore in the deep water off the coast of Libya until next year after deciding not to use its original drilling rig “for operational reasons”. The UK oil group said that it was still in the process of ensuring any safety [...]
Bank levy to raise £2.5bn for Treasury December 9, 2010 THE government yesterday finalised legislation imposing a levy on banks that will raise £2.5bn for the treasury, with the tax to be charged at 0.05 per cent next year and 0.075 per cent in 2012 – although it could be adjusted depending on the tax receipts generated. The rates are higher than anticipated, with the [...]
Banks propel FTSE upwards after interest rates decision December 9, 2010 BANKS helped Britain’s top shares rise yesterday after the Bank of England kept interest rates and quantitative easing measures unchanged, while US jobs figures raised hopes that a recovery was under way. The FTSE 100 was up 13.43 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,807.96, eradicating Wednesday’s losses, though gains were muted, with some traders [...]
Q&A BIS FUNDING December 9, 2010 Q. Does the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) have programs that help entrepreneurs? What are they? A.BIS has several programs that can give extra funding to entrepreneurs. Chief among them are the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) and the Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF). EFGs are bank loans intended for small and medium sized enterprises [...]
Banks plan an elite currency deal platform December 9, 2010 BIG banks frustrated by the opening of foreign exchange markets to greater competition plan to launch a rival, bank-only currency dealing system, City A.M. learned yesterday. The move aims to restore their level of influence in currency markets, which has declined since the Icap-owned EBS trading platform was opened to non-bank institutions such as high-frequency [...]
Luminar seals new £99m finance deal from banks to keep business moving December 9, 2010 NIGHTCLUB business Luminar yesterday confirmed a £99m injection from banks. The owner of the Oceana and Liquid club brands has signed a three-year loan deal with Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland. The money should give it some breathing space to pay down debts and see if the new strategy from chief executive Simon [...]
FTSE closes up but US uncertainty weighs on Wall Street December 9, 2010 LONDON’S FTSE 100 closed above 5,800 today for only the second time in almost a month, pushed up by financial services firms. Barclays, RBS and the Prudential were among the biggest gainers, while energy firm BG also rose more than three per cent and services firms Serco and BT also made the top ten. HSBC [...]
BORIS FUND BREAKFAST CLUB MEETS AT SAVOY December 7, 2010 LONDON mayor Boris Johnson played host to a star-studded launch for the corporate sponsors of the charitable Mayor’s Fund for London yesterday morning, with grandees of the City treated to an 8am poached egg and salmon breakfast in return for their paid-up membership of the London Business Club – an organisation for fund donors. The [...]
Retailers and commodities push FTSE to three-week high December 7, 2010 Britain’s top shares closed at their highest level in over three weeks yesterday, lifted by commodity makers and retailers as equities remained the preferred asset class among investors despite macro concerns. The FTSE 100 ended up 38.17 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,808.45, having closed 0.4 per cent higher on Monday and 7.3 per [...]
Banks: retail sector is competitive December 7, 2010 LEADING banking industry figures yesterday defended the level of competition in the UK’s retail banking sector, in evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Eric Daniels, whose bank faces the possibility of being broken up by the government, denied that the UK market was made uncompetitive by four of the top [...]