Red alert July 3, 2012 BOB Diamond will today face questions from parliament on his role in the Libor-fixing scandal, following a dramatic 12 hours that began with his resignation as chief executive of Barclays and ended with the Bank of England battling to keep itself out of the crisis. Diamond’s resignation was announced early yesterday morning after he decided [...]
The coalition must press reset and make a positive case for austerity July 24, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s fiscal strategy increasingly resembles alphabet soup: Plan A for austerity, Plan A+ for magic bullets, Plan B for debt and Plan I for infrastructure. Flexible planning is not necessarily a bad thing. What is a problem, however, is if revisions do not reflect changing economic circumstances but a weakness in the Treasury’s approach. [...]
Bank hunt will start in autumn April 22, 2012 The search for the next Bank of England governor will not formally start until the autumn, George Osborne said yesterday. The chancellor has come under pressure from the Treasury Select Committee to set out how and when it will choose Sir Mervyn King’s replacement. “There will be a proper process for appointing the next governor,” [...]
Chancellor says EU could block Vickers November 15, 2011 THE UK is embroiled in a “vociferous” dispute with Brussels over regulations that would prevent the government from implementing its flagship banking and regulatory policies. At a committee of MPs and lords, chancellor George Osborne (pictured) admitted that he is concerned about current EU proposals on capital rules, which would make it impossible for the [...]
Chancellor says EU could block Vickers November 15, 2011 THE UK is embroiled in a “vociferous” dispute with Brussels over regulations that would prevent the government from implementing its flagship banking and regulatory policies. At a committee of MPs and lords, chancellor George Osborne (pictured) admitted that he is concerned about current EU proposals on capital rules, which would make it impossible for the [...]
Runners and riders in the race to take King’s throne April 11, 2012 STANDARD Chartered chief executive Peter Sands yesterday became the first candidate to definitively rule himself out of the race to succeed Mervyn King, Bank of England governor. His appearance on the scene and exit leaves only two bankers as possible successors to King, whose final term as governor ends in June 2013. The timeline leaves [...]
Runners and riders in the race to take King’s throne April 11, 2012 STANDARD Chartered chief executive Peter Sands yesterday became the first candidate to definitively rule himself out of the race to succeed Mervyn King, Bank of England governor. His appearance on the scene and exit leaves only two bankers as possible successors to King, whose final term as governor ends in June 2013. The timeline leaves [...]
Concessions loom as Fink joins revolt on charity tax April 15, 2012 WILLIAM Hague has paved the way for government concessions on the capping of tax relief on charitable donations after a group of leading philanthropists, including Stanley Fink, said it would deter people from giving to good causes. Hague, the foreign secretary, appeared to hint at a compromise. “Finding a solution that takes account of the [...]
Concessions loom as Fink joins revolt on charity tax April 15, 2012 WILLIAM Hague has paved the way for government concessions on the capping of tax relief on charitable donations after a group of leading philanthropists, including Stanley Fink, said it would deter people from giving to good causes. Hague, the foreign secretary, appeared to hint at a compromise. “Finding a solution that takes account of the [...]
Eurozone crisis could unleash an epidemic of protectionism May 27, 2012 WHEN Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008, precipitating a global recession and the unwinding of a massive credit bubble, many feared a terrified world would succumb to the siren songs of protectionism. History usually repeats itself because younger generations forget the past or believe that they are better than their forebears; and one of the [...]