Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, announcing £40bn of tax rises, Central London Alliance comments
EADS Test & Services sale expected within weeks October 16, 2013 The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company is within weeks of agreeing the sale of its Cassidian Test & Services Unit. Chief strategy and marketing officer, Marwan Lahoud, told a committee of the French Parliament: We have identified several investors and expect to take a decision in a few weeks. The subsidiary was put up [...]
HSBC clients raided in Belgium October 15, 2013 BELGIAN police raided the homes in Brussels and Antwerp of some 20 clients of HSBC Private Bank yesterday as part of an investigation into tax evasion, Brussels prosecutors said. The prosecutors’ office said in a statement that the investigation had begun after French tax officials handed a CD to their Belgian counterparts containing details of [...]
Centrica issues £840m notes to finance recent acquisition costs October 14, 2013 FTSE 100-listed energy firm Centrica yesterday said it is issuing two bonds totalling $1.35bn (£840m), to pay for previously announced acquisitions and refinance existing debt. The new facility is made up of $750m in four per cent senior notes due 2023 and $600m-worth of 5.375 per cent senior notes due 2043. Centrica – which owns [...]
England are yet to reach their peak, insists new coach Amor October 14, 2013 ENGLAND Sevens head coach Simon Amor believes the best is yet to come from his side, following their third place finish in the opening leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Australia. Amor, who only took charge of England less than a month ago, oversaw wins against Spain and France on day one, before [...]
City Matters: Cementing ties with the Islamic world should be a key priority for London October 13, 2013 LATER this month, London will play host to the first World Islamic Economic Forum to be held outside the Islamic world. This singular event reflects the increasingly strong partnership that the UK wishes to build with the Islamic world, and also London’s role as a centre for Islamic finance – a global market worth around [...]
Santander joins mortgage plan as prices rocket October 10, 2013 SANTANDER became the sixth bank to join the Help to Buy scheme, yesterday promising to offer mortgages with a government guarantee in the New Year. But the announcement came as new data revealed the housing market is already growing strongly, adding to fears that the guarantee scheme could promote a bubble in some areas. House [...]
Lenders fear bubble if UK does not get more houses October 8, 2013 MORTGAGE lenders yesterday warned house building levels are still dangerously low, as the government’s new Help to Buy scheme launched with the backing of five banks, including HSBC. The scheme gives a government guarantee to buyers with a small deposit saved up, making banks more willing to lend and increasing the range of mortgages on [...]
Q and A: How can I get a loan with Help to Buy? October 8, 2013 Q Am I eligible for a loan with this guarantee? A The loans are available to buy a house for less than £600,000 that you will live in. It only applies to capital repayment loans, and is only for buyers with a deposit of between five and 20 per cent of the price. Q How [...]
Paragon pays £13.5m for bad HSBC loan book October 8, 2013 SPECIALIST lender Paragon yesterday announced it has bought a portfolio of bad loans from HSBC. The portfolio is made up of personal loans, both secured and unsecured, and were made by HFC Bank, a fully owned subsidiary of HSBC. Paragon paid £13.5m for the portfolio, financed with its own cash. The giant London-listed lender has [...]
Low growth in emerging world as India hit hard in September October 8, 2013 INDIA recorded the sharpest contraction in activity for over four years this September, according to HSBC’s emerging markets index, released this morning. The index suggests that Indian activity declined in every month of the third quarter, seeing the worst period since the middle of 2009. Emerging markets pointed to another month of meagre expansion. The [...]