CBI: high pay must match performance November 30, 2011 THE PAY of top company executives should be more closely aligned with their performance, employers’ organisation the CBI will say today. In response to a government paper on executive remuneration, authored by Vince Cable’s business department, the CBI will call for remuneration committees to use simpler and more transparent criteria when setting executive pay. And [...]
CBI: high pay must match performance November 30, 2011 THE PAY of top company executives should be more closely aligned with their performance, employers’ organisation the CBI will say today. In response to a government paper on executive remuneration, authored by Vince Cable’s business department, the CBI will call for remuneration committees to use simpler and more transparent criteria when setting executive pay. And [...]
Central bankers aren’t to blame for the crisis January 2, 2012 THE conventional story of the credit crunch is that following the dot-com boom the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, creating an inflationary debt-fuelled boom that manifested itself in housing. But is the Fed to blame? US economists Jeffrey R. Hummel and David Henderson prompted controversy by lending support to Ben Bernanke’s theory of a [...]
Halifax: Housing market will stay weak December 12, 2011 WEAK economic growth and persistent high unemployment will hold down house prices through 2012, Halifax warned yesterday in its housing market outlook. Only record low interest rates will help stop the market falling further, the bank’s economists claimed, although mortgage funding pressures are expected to weaken this support. Prices will keep rising in London, according [...]
Ground-to-air missiles readied for London 2012, says minister November 14, 2011 GROUND-TO-AIR missiles will be used to protect London during next summer’s Olympic Games if deemed necessary, defence secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday, amid increased concerns over security. Hammond disclosed the measures in the House of Commons, where he faced questions about the level of provisions made for London 2012 in light of suggestions that the [...]
EU: New debt law in March December 13, 2011 A NEW EU treaty could be negotiated by March despite the UK’s veto at Friday’s summit, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy announced yesterday. Europe’s bailout mechanisms may also need boosting, he told MEPs. The 26 nations that did not veto new proposals to ban governments from running up large debts can still negotiate the [...]
OECD: UK to return to recession November 28, 2011 Britain will slip into a modest recession early next year, the OECD said, slashing its 2012 growth forecast and urging the Bank of England to expand its asset purchase programme. On the eve of Chancellor George Osborne’s latest budget and growth announcements, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said the government may have to [...]
EC boss says nations can’t block treaty December 6, 2011 MOST countries will not get a vote on tighter fiscal integration, allowing Germany to force through new financial controls across the Eurozone, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy said yesterday in a report sent to EU leaders ahead of tomorrow’s two-day summit. US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner added his weight to efforts to resolve the [...]
Italy cabinet in emergency session over reforms November 2, 2011 Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi called an emergency cabinet meeting to accelerate budget reforms in an attempt to calm market turmoil that threatens to tip Italy’s economy into full-blown crisis. Berlusconi is under growing pressure to step down and hand power to an emergency government of national unity. He held four hours of meetings with [...]
DOLLAR RISE WILL DENT ALL ASSETS December 18, 2011 NOTWITHSTANDING the recent agreement to amend the EU treaty, the world’s financial markets are not reassured. A solution to the Eurozone debt crisis is still wanting, and many believe that the world’s emerging economies could provide it. As a collective driving force they might be able to stop the debt contagion, but the question is [...]