Credit Suisse ups salaries October 20, 2009 SWISS bank Credit Suisse is increasing the base salaries of its executives to compensate for new regulatory limits on bonuses. The changes, including plans to link deferred bonuses to performance and the share price, will come into effect from January and apply to around 7,000 staff – 15 per cent of the bank’s workforce. The [...]
Qataris make millions from Barclays sale October 20, 2009 GULF state vehicle Qatar Holding yesterday offloaded half of its share warrants in Barclays, netting the bank’s biggest shareholder a fast profit of over £600m. Qatari investors, who still hold a direct shareholding of over seven per cent in Barclays, were issued with the warrants last November at a subscription price of 197.775p, as part [...]
BANKS FACE THREAT OF TAX BOMBSHELL October 18, 2009 THE government risks driving droves of companies overseas and losing out on billions in revenues if it goes ahead with imposing a stricter tax regime on the banking sector, the City warned yesterday. The stark warning from City leaders came as it emerged that the government is considering a sweeping change to the fiscal burden [...]
City: we pay billions in tax October 18, 2009 LEADING industry figures yesterday said the government should underestimate the banking industry’s substantial contribution to its annual tax take at its peril. They added that the UK’s revenues could be significantly damaged by an exodus of banks from the UK if sweeping new tax hikes are introduced. “I understand the emotion and why people are [...]
Housing will feel the loss of bankers October 18, 2009 A WINDFALL tax on banks and a clamp down on bonuses could den the recovery of the ravaged house property market, industry experts said yesterday. Knight Frank head of research Liam Bailey said: “In the recent past bonuses have had the impact of increasing demand for top London properties. A tax on bonuses will undoubtedly [...]
Ledger takes his final bow in a surreal flight of fancy October 15, 2009 FilmTHE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUSCert: 12a IF YOU are looking for a role that can stand as a testament to the talent of Heath Ledger, who died during the filming of this movie, then you would do far better to remember his turn as the Joker in last year’s Batman film, The Dark Knight, than [...]
City defends high bonus expectations October 14, 2009 WALL Street banks are on track to pay employees a record $140bn (£88bn) this year, and despite predictions of a public backlash,City figures say that bonuses are well-deserved. Bankers’ bonuses look set for a resurgence, after US bank JP Morgan Chase smashed analyst expectations to report third-quarter earnings of $3.59bn (£2.5bn), a 72 per cent [...]
FSA outlines new rules to vet top execs at financial firms October 14, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority wants to vet senior job candidates when top banks draw up shortlists — not after a preferred candidate has been identified — the City watchdog said yesterday. In a letter to 5,000 chief executives of financial institutions, the Financial Services Authority said it expected to be engaged early in the recruitment [...]
Luxury London pads to add 40pc by 2014 October 13, 2009 LUXURY house prices in central London will put in a spectacular rally of nearly 40 per cent in the next five years, according to the latest forecast by Knight Frank. The estate agent said prime London properties, worth over £1m, will sidestep a nationwide fall in house prices next year and grow at three per [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU AGREE HOUSE PRICES WILL RISE BY AS MUCH AS 40 PER CENT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? October 13, 2009 PATRICK EGAN NORTH SQUARE CAPITAL“I think that is very unlikely. Constraints on credit will be with us for at least three years yet, and we’ll also have an inflationary period within that time where interest rates will be raised and will dampen any exuberance in the housing market.”JON MITCHELL FIDELITY“Five years is a long time, [...]