Monte Paschi doubles plans for capital hike September 8, 2013 ITALY’S Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena will seek €2.5bn (£2.13bn) in extra capital from investors, more than double its original plan, under a revised bailout to shore up the loss-making bank, the economy ministry said last night. The revised plan is the latest measure in a painful recovery process for Italy’s number three bank, [...]
The startup spicing up Britain’s wealth management industry September 8, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Nick Hungerford, who switched the Valley for Vauxhall to found the online investment management firm Nutmeg THE British public has long been accustomed to depositing their earnings in a bank account, or investing through an established stockbroker. But Nick Hungerford wants to disrupt the centuries-old wealth management industry, in precisely the same [...]
Britain slips two places in global race league table September 4, 2013 THE UK has become less competitive in the last year compared to its peer countries, according to a detailed global report published yesterday by the World Economic Forum. Despite the government’s frequently cited pledge to improve Britain’s standing in the so-called global race, the UK slipped from eighth place in 2012 to 10th place in this [...]
It’s time our qualifications system broke free from the A-Level stranglehold September 4, 2013 AS STUDENTS collect their A-Level results, we should ponder why Britain continues to have state-mandated qualifications in the first place. Why is it that the government continues to promote A-levels, and to prescribe their structure and method of assessment, when there are useful and valued alternatives such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), the City and [...]
Both Left and Right should fear the threat to medical research in the UK September 2, 2013 RARELY has an issue in the UK managed to unite such odd bedfellows as the Thatcherite Right and the Guardian-reading Left. But the curious case of the interim refusal of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to recommend Bexsero (the first approved vaccine for limiting Meningitis B) for inclusion in Britain’s immunisation programme [...]
Both Left and Right should fear the threat to medical research in the UK September 1, 2013 RARELY has an issue in the UK managed to unite such odd bedfellows as the Thatcherite Right and the Guardian-reading Left. But the curious case of the interim refusal of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to recommend Bexsero (the first approved vaccine for limiting Meningitis B) for inclusion in Britain’s immunisation programme [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 29 August 2013 August 28, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Amazon tax fight in Supreme Court Jeff Bezos’s Amazon is taking a high-stakes legal battle to the US Supreme Court, hiring one of Washington’s most prominent lawyers Ted Olson to fight the taxation of its shoppers in New York state. Amazon wants the court to review a case about the most incendiary political [...]
Heatwave hits Rank Group but its customers are spending more August 15, 2013 THE RECENT heatwave has kept gamblers away from Rank Group’s casinos and bingo halls, the firm said yesterday. Chief executive Ian Burke said that despite good progress in integrating Gala Coral, the “hot weather has adversely impacted trading in the first weeks of the new financial year”. Rank, which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino, [...]
It’s time our qualifications system broke free from the A-Level stranglehold August 14, 2013 AS STUDENTS collect their A-Level results, we should ponder why Britain continues to have state-mandated qualifications in the first place. Why is it that the government continues to promote A-levels, and to prescribe their structure and method of assessment, when there are useful and valued alternatives such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), the City and [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 August 2013 August 13, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES EU pushes single market in telecoms Brussels’ top competition authority has called for 28 national telecoms regulators to be replaced by a single pan-European watchdog. The report from commissioner Joaquin Almunia criticises EU telecoms chief Neelie Kroes for lacking ambition in her plan to create a single telecoms market. Kroes hopes her proposals [...]