StanChart strips finance boss of risk role after Bank pressure December 15, 2013 STANDARD Chartered finance chief Richard Meddings has been stripped of his role overseeing the firm’s risk division following pressure from the Bank of England. The lender was forced to hand over responsibility for risk to chief executive Peter Sands after the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the central bank’s financial watchdog, expressed concerns over Meddings holding [...]
Obama turns to Twitter for Thanksgiving help November 28, 2013 TURKEYS are once again making headlines this Thanksgiving. Popcorn, a four month old turkey, was issued a Presidential pardon this week after users of social media decided President Obama should free the bird – by voting with the hashtag #TeamPopcorn. Caramel, whose gobble was described as quick, clear and frequent, received no such pardon and [...]
London Report: Banks lift FTSE as new leverage rules welcomed January 13, 2014 ARALLY in banking shares helped the FTSE 100 rise to a two-month closing high yesterday as investors welcomed the prospect of lighter rules on leverage for the sector. Supermarket WM Morrison was the top FTSE gainer on speculation it may sell some property and return some of the proceeds to shareholders, while oil and gas [...]
Russia’s Ukraine attack is end of Pax Americana March 3, 2014 THIS is the week Western foreign policy was finally exposed as a sham. Russia has started to invade Ukraine, an independent nation supposedly backed by the West, in what could be the most significant geopolitical crisis since 9/11, and what is anybody going to do about it? Nothing. Pax Americana had been on its death [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 05 December 2013 December 4, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES US business chiefs want budget deal Chief executives of big US companies are warning that the country faces another year of sluggish growth, expressing hope that a deal over the budget being discussed in Congress will kick-start the economic recovery. Jim McNerney, chief executive of Boeing and chairman of the Business Roundtable, said [...]
What you need to know before the open – 26/11 November 26, 2013 European markets are set to open mixed this morning after Brent prices recovered over the course of yesterday's trading. Prices initially saw a two per cent fall following the announcement of the Iran nuclear deal. Sepulchral start to European opening expected with derisory volumes continuing – FTSE -2, DAX +13, CAC -4 — David [...]
Letters to the Editor – 27/11 – London housing, Payday loan cap, Best of Twitter November 26, 2013 London housing The mayor’s efforts to encourage more housing are to be welcomed. But unless he is given further powers over planning, developers will continue to find resistance among London’s councils, which all have their own interpretations of planning policy. Some are more forward-thinking than others. But with a rapidly-growing population and a severe lag [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 2 October 2013 October 1, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Euro banks undervalued Europe’s banks are just as strong as US rivals and are being unjustly undervalued by investors, according to the vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB) – the man in charge of setting up safety testing of the Eurozone’s banking system. Vitor Constancio’s comments come as the ECB prepares for [...]
We must never forget John F Kennedy’s legacy as a tax cutter November 25, 2013 IT was the fiftieth anniversary of John F Kennedy’s assassination this weekend. Yet amid all the retrospectives, not enough has been said about his tax policies, which were better than those of almost any Western government in power today. He believed in cutting taxes to liberate companies and individuals and to incentivise them to work [...]
Mark Carney has been the luckiest of unlucky Bank governors January 23, 2014 BORROWERS, relax; savers, tear your hair out. The Bank of England’s base rates will remain on hold; Mark Carney doesn’t “see an immediate need to change monetary policy.” Carney has been extraordinarily lucky in his misfortune. His flagship policy is in tatters and yet the economy’s strong growth, rising employment and lower inflation means that [...]