EU probe into auditors set to be delayed November 17, 2011 MICHEL Barnier, the European commissioner, is widely expected to postpone the publication of draft legislation designed to clamp down on the market dominance of the “big four” accountancy firms next week. Barnier was planning to propose controversial changes to auditing rules to prevent potential conflicts of interest and boost competition. But the draft regulations are [...]
India’s innovation culture is revealing itself at last – and the West faces a dilemma November 14, 2011 CAN India emerge as an innovation powerhouse? Over the past two decades, India has achieved a dominant share of offshore work, giving Western populations angst about the loss of white collar jobs. The traditional concern in the West has been about immigrants coming onshore to compete for local jobs; now it seems that the effects [...]
EMI broken up and sold for £2.6bn November 11, 2011 The recorded music division of iconic British music group EMI, home to the Beatles and Coldplay, was sold today to French-based media conglomerate Vivendi. Universal Music Group, an arm of Vivendi and the world’s largest music company, announced an agreement with Citigroup today to purchase EMI Music for £1.2bn. There are reports that the second [...]
Vodafone seals the £790m sale of its stake in Poland’s Polkomtel November 9, 2011 VODAFONE last night sealed the €920m (£790m) sale of its 24.4 per cent stake in Polkomtel after gaining regulatory clearance from Polish authorities. Spartan Capital Holdings beat off competition from rivals including Apax and Telenor to acquire the stake. The sale is part of Vodafone’s strategy to offload non core assets. It has also sold [...]
INTERVENTION FROM THE SNB HAS LIMITS November 8, 2011 ONE currency pair staged a wild rollercoaster ride this week, rising 40 points in a matter of seconds only to fall 100 points a few minutes later as markets reacted to every headline to hit the screen. If you think I am referring to the euro-dollar, I am not. The cross in question is euro-Swiss [...]
We cannot improve schools from the centre: A bold call for more choice in education November 6, 2011 BY AND large, British families do not choose the education their children receive. For the majority of parents that choice is made for them, by the distance from their front door to the school gate, and whether they have the means to buy into the catchment of another school or avail themselves of a private [...]
New watchdog: we don’t care if London is competitive or not November 1, 2011 THE NEW regulator charged with protecting consumers should not have to take into account the competitiveness of the City when making decisions, its incoming chief Martin Wheatley said yesterday. Appearing before the influential Treasury Select Committee, Wheatley, who will run the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) when it is created next year, said that the body [...]
Five must-follow tweeters for trading success October 31, 2011 1 @ZEROHEDGE From the mysterious writers who author the Zero Hedge blog, this twitter feed is streets ahead of the competition. It brings news scoops and links to insightful articles that often challenge the consensus. The website has been credited with bringing the controversial practice of flash trading to the public attention in 2009. 2 [...]
GOVERNOR: TIME IS RUNNING OUT October 18, 2011 BRITAIN’S recovery has been knocked off track by the global financial crisis, Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King claimed last night, in a sweeping attack on governments and monetary authorities throughout the world. King hit out at monetary authorities that have fixed currencies, and criticised governments for failing to act quickly enough on the [...]
Why unpaid internships are a good thing – they help the young get a foot in the door October 16, 2011 MY COMPANY is currently looking for an intern (don’t all apply at once). The reason is simple. We have a job that needs doing that we cannot get our clients to pay us for and, in the current climate, we cannot afford to pay an experienced person to do it. The work we want doing [...]