Daft planning rules are pushing up the price of food in shops January 7, 2013 IF you travelled abroad over Christmas, you will have noticed that goods in shops are often cheaper than in the UK. A uSwitch survey cited by the Institute of Economic Affairs shows that a food basket costs roughly a fifth more in the UK than it does in Germany, France and the Netherlands. Once again, [...]
Peppa Pig firm gets go-ahead for movie deal January 3, 2013 THE INDEPENDENT film company behind Peppa Pig and the Twilight films will close its purchase of movie distributor Alliance Films imminently, after the London-listed company won approval from Canadian competition authorities. Entertainment One is likely to complete the C$225m (£141.2m) deal next week, sources close to the deal said. The company said yesterday that it [...]
Jefferies finishes 2012 on a high, but it is tough out there December 17, 2012 There’s been anything but a gradual winding down towards the Christmas break for many of those who ply their trade at the London offices of Jefferies. Whilst for many rivals Christmas is truly coming early, with some executives already off for a touch of winter sun, many of the Jefferies teams are still much in [...]
Apple agrees to back down on ebook pricing… December 13, 2012 APPLE and a group of major publishers have backed down over the pricing of ebooks, in a move that could see Amazon set lower prices. The four publishers – Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Livre and Macmillan – as well as the technology giant reached an agreement with European authorities following a competition investigation. The [...]
What the other papers say this Morning December 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Steel chief Mittal upbeat on US growth US manufacturing is poised to reap the benefits of cheaper energy, propelling the world’s largest economy into a new growth phase, says Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and chief executive of ArcelorMittal. Brussels backs Hutchison Orange deal Europe’s top competition authority approved the acquisition of France Telecom’s Orange [...]
European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services December 12, 2012 WOLFGANG Schäuble, the German finance minister, recently said that “we can only achieve political union if we have a crisis”. His idea is to exploit the Eurozone’s sovereign debt problems to confer additional powers on the EU. And his most recent project is the “single supervisory mechanism” – otherwise known as banking union. EU finance [...]
Three men arrested in Libor probe December 11, 2012 THE UK fraud office yesterday stepped up the global investigation into the Libor fixing scandal by arresting three City bankers in connection with the probe. The men, aged 33, 41 and 47, were detained by the City of London police on the orders of the Serious Fraud Office in an early morning raid on three [...]
Bubbles and bankruptcy at the British Museum December 10, 2012 THE LATEST offering from the money team at the British Museum, Bubbles and Bankruptcy, is a exhibitional journey through financial crises in Britain since the first stock bubbles of 1700 to the fiscal woes of present. The exhibition aims to “explore the fertile history of satire and protest about financial crises, represented by historic prints, [...]
Banco Popular deal puts a spring in bankers’ steps December 6, 2012 THE problems of the Eurozone are far from over but some investment bankers involved in capital raising issues are hoping a type of normality is returning to their battered markets. The contrasting fortunes of two financial deals, at either end of the year, provide the backdrop to their growing confidence. At the start of 2012 [...]
What the other papers say this morning November 18, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU makes budget plans without UK EU officials have begun work on a plan to create a long-term budget without the UK in a move that reflects mounting frustration that Britain’s demand for a spending freeze cannot be reconciled with the rest of the bloc. EU officials and national diplomats have been studying [...]