No extra tax on banks as war on City halted January 10, 2011 DAVID Cameron has decided not to slap another tax on City pay or to introduce yet further restrictions on bonuses, it emerged last night. Negotiations are still ongoing about a global lending target for UK banks in 2011, as well as the possibility of getting institutions to disclose more details on high earners. One option would be [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BUY-OUT GROUP GAINS CONTROL OF MADEJSKI’S LARGEST PROJECT Sir John Madejski, the property and publishing tycoon, has sold control over one of Britain’s largest commercial developments to a private equity consortium in the latest debt-driven property transaction. Benson Elliot, the private equity real estate firm, has teamed up with UK developer Stanhope to [...]
Barclays may set up bad bank for weak assets, analysts say January 10, 2011 BARCLAYS could soon start a radical restructuring to spin out a “bad” investment bank to wind down poorly performing assets, analysts said yesterday. Shedding non-core and credit-impaired assets by repackaging them into a separate entity would allow it to meet its looming Basel III capital requirements while maintaining high earnings and dividends to shareholders. Barclays [...]
European fears drag FTSE down January 10, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index closed lower yesterday hurt by banks, on renewed concerns over the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, and miners dented by weaker metals prices and concerns over the impact of floods in Australia. But Smith & Nephew, Europe’s largest maker of replacement knees and hips, jumped to the top of the blue-chip leaderboard, [...]
Miners and debt concerns leave FTSE lower January 10, 2011 EXCITEMENT over takeover talks at joint replacement specialist Smith & Nephew was not enough to keep the FTSE in positive territory as miners weighed on the index today. The FTSE 100 closed down 37.39 points or 0.6 per cent at 5,946.94 as worries over demand for copper in China and the impact of floods in [...]
ECB bond buying gives Portugal breathing space January 10, 2011 THE European Central Bank has thrown Portugal a temporary lifeline by buying up its bonds, traders said, as pressure mounted on Lisbon to seek an international bailout. Germany, France and other eurozone states have been pushing Portugal to seek EU-IMF assistance, following Greece and Ireland, in a bid to prevent contagion spreading to the eurozone’s [...]
Banker bashing January 9, 2011 “POLITICS OF ENVY IS BACK” ***** STARRING DAVID CAMERON ● ALAN JOHNSON ● STEPHEN HESTER ● BOB DIAMOND POPULIST banker bashing is set to make a dramatic return this week, ahead of a politically sensitive bonus round in the City. Alan Johnson, the shadow chancellor, yesterday accused the coalition of “standing idly by” while bankers [...]
Brussels is calling the shots over banker payouts January 9, 2011 MUCH of the rhetoric surrounding bankers’ bonuses is just that: rhetoric. David Cameron yesterday said that he didn’t want to micromanage British banks, a sentiment that should be welcomed, but the truth is that politicians in Brussels – not Britain – really call the shots when it comes to variable remuneration. For the Committee of European [...]
Diamond set to receive a smaller bonus January 9, 2011 BARCLAYS’ new chief executive Bob Diamond is preparing to receive a pared down bonus for 2010, despite heading up the bank’s investment banking arm last year. While an investment banking bonus would normally be around £15m-£25m, Diamond is likely to get more of a chief executive’s bonus, in the £6-£10m range, despite only just taking [...]
No deal on pay transparency January 9, 2011 THE government is unlikely to win concessions on pay transparency for banks but will instead secure a promise to increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Despite a campaign by some politicians, who have called for banks to reveal how many employees receive over £1m in pay, divisions among banks make it unlikely that an agreement [...]