MPs told new banks are not short-term fix November 6, 2012 THE GROWTH of challenger banks is not a solution to the current shortage of lending to small firms, City grandee John Griffith-Jones said yesterday, arguing that only unblocking lending from big banks can help in the short run. The former KPMG boss and incoming chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority also told MPs that banks [...]
Monetary union is clipping the wings of regions outside the dynamic South November 6, 2012 LORD Heseltine’s recent report into economic growth has attracted a great deal of comment – almost all of which suggests that he longs for the old Regional Development Agencies and the state-planned decades of the 60s and 70s. But the report does, at least, outline a list of possible policy actions to deal with a [...]
Introducing the FSA’s new investment rules November 4, 2012 EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, GEKKO JUST over six years ago, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced a review of retail investment, with the aim of identifying and addressing the root cause of problems that continued to emerge in the market. Called the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), it’s a key part of the FSA’s consumer protection strategy. But [...]
Vodafone bags Kiwi telecoms firm after regulator clears deal October 31, 2012 VODAFONE yesterday won approval for its NZ$840m (£429m) takeover of struggling telecoms company TelstraClear, as part of a bid to take on the dominant Telecom New Zealand. The country’s competition authorities gave Vodafone the green light for the deal yesterday. In New Zealand, as in the UK, Vodafone runs a mobile phone network. But is [...]
Virgin Atlantic eyes airline alliance October 26, 2012 Virgin Atlantic is close to joining an alliance with other airlines, marking a turning point after 30 years of fierce independence, according to founder Sir Richard Branson. The tycoon told reporters in India that “we may finally give up and become part of a bigger alliance”, with further details expected in the next three to [...]
Higher spenders would be better than a new strategy October 24, 2012 WHAT does the future of retail look like? Clicks-and-mortar is the buzzword of the moment (Tesco calls its version Clicks and Bricks), a Frankenstein-like stitching together of physical retail locations with online, anytime ordering. When Home Retail Group (HRG) announced its strategy to turn around Argos yesterday that’s very much what it had in mind, [...]
Small lenders fear new rules only aid giants October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL regulators are failing to promote competition in the banking sector and perpetuating the “too big to fail” problem, a small bank claimed yesterday, by favouring big lenders under new capital requirements. Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust Bank, pointed to Sir John Vickers’ proposals allowing a large bank to risk-weight mortgages at five [...]
We need to do more to encourage firms to spend in the UK October 22, 2012 THIS is the week Britain will finally exit its double-dip recession – or at least, so we must all hope. Barring the most extraordinary upset in the history of British economic forecasting, figures out on Thursday will show that the economy grew at least a little during the third quarter, making up some of the [...]
Google’s awful day reminds us it is becoming less special October 18, 2012 YESTERDAY was a terrible day for Google, a firm used to success. Its slump in profits came as a shock to the markets. It shouldn’t have: the company is merely becoming more normal, especially following its decision to overpay for Motorola, and normal firms don’t do as well as revolutionary, super-smart start-ups. As proof of [...]
Wheatley’s new City watchdog shows its teeth October 16, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday unveiled its plan to regulate behaviour in the City, pledging to force companies to “put consumers at the heart of their business”. Martin Wheatley, who will be chief executive of the FCA when it is spawned from the disbanding Financial Services Authority (FSA) next year, outlined its approach. New [...]