Retail industry body changes tune on rates August 14, 2013 THE BRITISH Retail Consortium (BRC) has abandoned its call to the government to freeze business rates, urging instead for next year’s rates uplift to be capped at two per cent. In a letter to retailers yesterday, Helen Dickinson, the director general of the industry body, said it would be “unrealistic” to ask HM Treasury to [...]
“Kids don’t practice enough and switch clubs for wrong reasons” September 12, 2013 Exclusive: Charlton academy boss Paul Hart speaks mind to Josh Richards DAYS when a young David Beckham would dedicate extra hours to developing his iconic ball-bending technique or Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand would spend hours practising in steel cages outside their childhood homes appear to be over. And while the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance [...]
Regulator agrees redress of up to £1.3bn for mis-sold insurance products August 22, 2013 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reached an agreement with several firms to provide redress to consumers mis-sold Card Protection Plan's (CPP) Card Protection and Identity Protection policies. This follows the mis-selling of 23 million policies to seven million customers. Those customers will now receive a letter from CPP explaining the process with a [...]
Governor stands firm on plan for UK interest rates August 28, 2013 INTEREST rates could stay at rock bottom even after unemployment falls below seven per cent, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday. In a bid to convince sceptical markets he really is serious about keeping rates down for the next three years, Carney said he would look for a wide range of evidence that [...]
Nationwide is mulling its first bank purchase October 22, 2012 THE NATIONWIDE building society is considering buying the 316 RBS branches which are up for sale, joining a small field of potential investors. The building society has expanded by merging with other mutuals over the years – but it is not thought that a building society has ever before acquired a bank, or such a [...]
Carney tears up King’s rulebook August 28, 2013 BANK lending is in line for a £90bn boost after Mark Carney yesterday agreed to let the safest institutions divert resources away from regulatory liquidity buffers and into business and household credit. It comes after business secretary Vince Cable called the Bank of England the “capital Taliban,” claiming regulators’ tough capital requirements were hitting [...]
Bottom Line: Antony Jenkins’ plans are being undermined for no good reason July 30, 2013 Antony Jenkins must wonder if it is really worth all the effort – despite everything he has done to rehabilitate Barclays’ image after last year’s disasters, the authorities have still found ways to keep investors worried. The chief took over after the former chairman, chief executive and chief operating officer all quit in the [...]
Nationwide to scrap interest-only loans October 4, 2012 ONE of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders yesterday said it would withdraw interest-only mortgages to future homeowners from next week, in a further sign of the squeeze on higher risk lending. Nationwide Building Society, the third biggest mortgage lender in the country, wrote to brokers yesterday saying it would stop offering the mortgage on 11 [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 9 August 2013 August 8, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Norway’s oil fund plans to turn active Norway’s $760bn (£489bn) oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is stepping up its efforts to be a more active investor by appointing a corporate governance advisory board. Having quadrupled in size in the past eight years, the vehicle is seeking to play a bigger [...]
London Report: UK’s corporate calendar packed in results season July 28, 2013 THE CORPORATE calendar is packed this week, as businesses including ITV, BP, Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland update the market amid a swathe of other results. The week begins with figures from Fidessa Group, Hammerson, InterContinental Hotels Group, Intertek Group, JKX Oil & Gas, Keller Group, Senior, Vernalis, Reckitt Benckiser Group, National Grid, [...]