Small businesses say government must cut NI to encourage hiring June 6, 2011 A REDUCTION in National Insurance payments would help small business take on more new staff, according to the latest figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The industry body is calling for the government to change its policy on National Insurance, after a survey of more than 1,700 small business owners showed that almost [...]
Foreign states owe UK £2.3bn June 5, 2011 THE UK government is owed more than £2.3bn by foreign states, including a number of the most undemocratic and despotic regimes in the world. Some of the largest debts to Whitehall’s Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) are owed by Zimbabwe (£190m) and Sudan (£664m). The list of debts owed to the ECGD by 25 foreign [...]
Moody’s warns life insurers on sales as tax breaks end June 1, 2011 CUTBACKS on life insurers’ tax breaks in Europe are a threat to their competitiveness that is being compounded by ultra-low interest rates in the region, credit rating agency Moody’s said yesterday. European life insurers may see their sales volumes hurt if they fail to deliver better returns on life products than savings products offered by [...]
Banks help FTSE to end May on a high but fear still reigns May 31, 2011 BANKS and energy stocks, buoyed by hopes of a second bailout for Greece, helped Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday, but traders remained concerned about buying momentum in the short-term. “Uncertainty for the near term outlook still remains bearish until the markets can pick up positive momentum and clear hurdles to give the bulls a chance [...]
Yen faces bleak long-term prospects May 31, 2011 IG INDEX CHRIS BEAUCHAMP The yen suffered a sharp drop on Tuesday following a double-whammy of bleak news for the Japanese economy. It fell initially after a report on April’s factory output showing growth was even lower than forecast, at 1 per cent rather than 2.2 per cent, and then retreated even further after Moody’s [...]
Banks may benefit from EU easing of Basel rules May 26, 2011 BANKS with large insurance arms could sidestep the toughest elements of the new Basel III capital requirements, according to not-yet-released draft European Union legislation. The draft plans to roll Basel III out across the EU could let banks count more capital held within their insurance arms towards the quota they must hold, than institutions outside [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2011 PRUDENTIAL Nomura rates the insurer “reduce” with a target price of 735p. The broker thinks the Pru’s valuation could be called into question by the expected sales slowdown in the States, and believes the market is currently underestimating the firm’s exposure to the US market. Nomura recommends switching to AXA, which is forecast to return [...]
Mapping out the direction of this year’s Mifid review May 24, 2011 IT’S simple really. The outcome of Mifid II will include: more stringent regulation of best execution obligations, a move towards the introduction of a consolidated tape, an increased push for transparency, a higher number of trades at a higher speed, lower fees, tighter spreads, the introduction of a single passport to give improved access to [...]
Unions are right: United we stand, divided we fall May 18, 2011 TRADE unions might have adopted it as their rallying cry, but that doesn’t mean it is untrue. Indeed, it is applicable to much of life: united we stand, and divided we fall. It is the principle that underpins unions and countries and coalition governments, and failure to appreciate it drove swathes of the globe into [...]
Fidelity to vote against Pru chairman May 17, 2011 LEADING City fund manager Fidelity is planning to vote against the re-election of Prudential’s chairman Harvey McGrath in protest at the botched bid for Asian insurer AIA last year, City A.M. learned yesterday. It is among a group of institutional investors expected to oppose the re-election of McGrath, Prudential’s chairman since 2008, at the annual [...]