Europe bears brunt of fall in investment banking revenue January 3, 2013 EUROPEAN investment banks were among the worst hit by the fees downturn in 2012, according to data released yesterday by Thomson Reuters. Worldwide fees fell by just 3.4 per cent to $74.8bn (£46bn) last year but the income from deals involving the UK, France and Spain slumped by more than 15 per cent. “The Eurozone [...]
Cameron pledges tax crackdown while UK is host of G8 January 1, 2013 DAVID Cameron today said he will put tax evasion at the heart of this year’s G8 summit and demand the world’s largest economies “galvanise collective international action” to tackle abuse of the taxation system. In a letter sent to leaders of the G8 group of wealthy countries, the Prime Minister said he would use Britain’s [...]
Rapid responses December 20, 2012 The Russian way [Re: Russian business stereotypes need to be consigned to the distant past, yesterday] For hundreds of years, Russia was part of Europe and the wider international community. Communism was a short diversion and, since 1991, the country’s integration has become more and more obvious. On the one hand, this means the West [...]
20 of the world’s largest donors December 20, 2012 1 BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION US The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was formed in 2000 through the merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, adopting their previous agendas of improving global health and education. With offices in the US, India, China and UK, the foundation has a global [...]
Russian business stereotypes need to be consigned to the distant past December 19, 2012 BRITISH statesman Lord Curzon once famously said that every Englishman enters Russia a Russophobe, and leaves it a Russophile. Though time has passed since the Great Game of Rudyard Kipling, the saying is still relevant. According to a recent Economic Intelligence Unit survey of 200 international senior executives, less than 15 per cent would view [...]
Polymetal buys platinum project December 18, 2012 Precious metals miner Polymetal has agreed to buy its first platinum exploration project in Russia, with VTB Capital. The miner acquired a 24.99 per cent stake in the Svetlobor project from Ubergot Investments in exchange for 130,053 Polymetal shares, while VTB bought the remaining stake in the project, in exchange for 390,369 shares. The total [...]
Green energy subsidies are failing to deliver cheap low carbon power December 18, 2012 TODAY Parliament will debate the Energy Bill. With homes braced for a hike in bills – and nearly 5m in fuel poverty – the government wants to strike an affordable balance between the UK’s environmental credentials and its raw energy needs. If policy is to follow facts not fads, we need a decisive break with [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 17, 2012 Kleinwort Benson Lucy Gazmararian has been appointed head of investment advisory at the private bank. She joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where she was an executive director. Gazmararian previously held roles at Schroders and began her career in journalism. Argonaut Capital Partners Dennis Pellerito has been appointed head of UK sales at the fund [...]
Head to Lapland for a trip that is truly wondrous December 16, 2012 WE ARE due to land in Kittila in 20 minutes. There are light winds and it’s a little bit chilly on the ground with temperatures of minus 38,” the captain says as we descend on Finnish Lapland. Many people know Lapland as the home of Father Christmas, and some might recognize its snowy scenes from [...]
Talks break down on internet treaty after UK refuses to sign December 13, 2012 INTERNATIONAL negotiations over internet regulation collapsed without a conclusion last night, as representatives from the UK and US refused to agree to terms demanded by countries including Russia, China and Iran. Two weeks of talks over a reformed UN communications agreement came to a head as a host of western nations said they would not [...]