RWE to scale back its asset sell-off plans March 6, 2012 RWE, Germany’s second-biggest utility, plans to sell fewer assets after finding another €1bn (£834m) of cost cuts and raising its capital as it positions itself for a future without nuclear power in its home market. The company, which owns British utility NPower, reported a 45 per cent drop in 2011 net profit yesterday. It now [...]
At home and abroad, we all need to be reminded of the moral virtues of capitalism March 5, 2012 I LOVE free market capitalism. The reason is simple: I hate famine, disease, misery, and oppression. I’m on a tour around the world to promote the liberating power of free-market capitalism. I’ve edited a book on the subject, The Morality of Capitalism, which is coming out in at least 16 languages. Last week I was [...]
UK venture capitalism: Opportunities and costs March 4, 2012 JACOB MOSELEY THE venture capital industry in the UK, and the rest of Europe, is in something of a state of flux. During the tech bubble era, venture capital fundraising and investment activity expanded rapidly, but when the bubble burst, many firms struggled to survive the subsequent economic downturn. This has led to a consolidation [...]
KKR bosses earn $94m February 27, 2012 HENRY Kravis and George Roberts, the co-founders and chief executives of KKR, have each received a payout of around $94m from the private equity group. The two 68-year-old cousins earned about $64.2m each in cash dividend payments from their combined 25 per cent stake in KKR last year, according to documents filed with the Securities [...]
City AM interview Paul Fisher of the Bank of England February 23, 2012 Senior Bank of England official Paul Fisher was interviewed on Wednesday 22nd February 2012, by Allister Heath and Julian Harris from City A.M. The edited transcript is as follows: Paul, would you like to start with how you see the outlook at the moment? I think it continues to be a story where the outlook [...]
Britain’s growth will be powered by smaller firms February 23, 2012 WHEN Xavier Rolet, chief executive of London Stock Exchange Group, said in City A.M. on 9 January that small and medium enterprises provide the best hope for reviving the UK economy, I cheered. “Without the growth of fledgling companies, there will be little meaningful job creation,” he said. How true. When regulators and politicians talk [...]
Three Isa myths that must go bust February 22, 2012 IT IS surprising how many City folk – versed, as they often are, in the intricacies of structuring complex financial products – don’t know the basics of individual savings accounts (Isas). It isn’t uncommon to need to explain to bankers that the Isa allowance can be taken every year; that it isn’t a product in [...]
The US economy is recovering at last February 16, 2012 IT used to be said that when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. This remains the case, despite the rise of China and other emerging giants. So it is good news that the US economy has started to recover, with even unemployment going down. The markets can barely contain themselves for [...]
Zurich clinches top spot as the world’s most expensive city February 14, 2012 ZURICH has leapfrogged ahead of Tokyo in the league table of the world’s most expensive cities after the Swiss franc’s sharp rise and its allure as a safe-haven currency for investors sent the cost of living soaring. The Swiss city, which is now almost 50 per cent more expensive than London, has jumped from fifth [...]
Obama taxes to target rich February 13, 2012 TAX HIKES amounting to an extra $1.5 trillion (£950bn) over the next decade were proposed yesterday by President Barack Obama. He called for increased taxes on capital gains and dividends, as well as a “Buffett rule” to increase taxes on households earning over $1m per year. Bush-era tax breaks will be allowed to expire, hitting [...]