News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

European firms are sitting on extra 270bn pension deficit

November 16, 2009

Top European firms are underestimating their pension obligations by €300bn (£270bn), with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group among the worst offenders, according to new figures. Lloyds has underestimated its obligations by €14.2bn, more than any other European firm, followed by RBS, which has unrecognised liabilities of €13.3bn, according to calculations by equity [...]
Investors unveil new code for shareholder activism

November 16, 2009

HEAVYWEIGHT City shareholders yesterday unveiled guidelines designed to counter criticism they do not scrutinise the companies they invest in closely enough. The code includes pledges to monitor companies, subject boards to closer scrutiny, ensure independent directors are sufficiently powerful and intervene in company management when needed. The code was set up by the Institutional Shareholders [...]
Admiral works on debt deal with its banker

November 16, 2009

ADMIRAL Taverns yesterday confirmed it was working on a financial restructuring which is expected to leave Lloyds Banking Group owning half the pub chain. It was revealed that Lloyds is set to agree a £600m debt-for-equity swap at the tenanted pub company group, in the latest fallout from the banking group’s ill-fated merger last year [...]
Amlin back to strength after premiums rise

November 16, 2009

AMLIN, the Lloyds of London property and casualty insurer, has bounced back from a tough 2008, with underwriting and investment returns both rising steeply in the first 10 months of the year. Chief executive Charles Philipps yesterday revealed a 52 per cent spike in gross written premiums with two months trading left. An unusually low [...]
The amateur economist who finds the truth in the freakiest places

November 16, 2009

FOR someone who has spent much of the last decade successfully writing about economics, Stephen Dubner is surprisingly keen to point out that he is not an economist. Following his co-authorship of Freakonomics, one of the publishing phenomena of recent years, and a sequel called Superfreakonomics, however, surely he has picked up some knowledge. Well [...]
FSA GIVEN RIGHT TO VETO BONUS DEALS

November 15, 2009

THEFinancial Services Authority will have the power to tear up pay and bonus contracts that violate its guidelines under planned legislation to be unveiled as part of the Queen’s Speech onWednesday. Lord Myners, the City Minister, claimed yesterday that allowing the regulator to render void some contracts would prevent excessive risk-taking from threatening the stability [...]
Lord Mayor urges City to reach out

November 15, 2009

NICK Anstee, the newly-elected Lord Mayor, will tonight embark upon the unenviable task of attempting to repair relations between the City and the wider public, in a speech at his inauguration banquet at the Guildhall. Anstee, a senior director at law firm SJ Berwin, will reiterate that the Lord Mayor’s job is to speak for [...]
Half of firms to freeze pay

November 15, 2009

HALF OF employers in the UK are planning to freeze pay completely in 2010, a survey will reveal today. The latest employment trends research from the industry body CBI and recruitment firm Harvey Nash will show that firms remain “ultra-cautious” about increasing pay, with only four per cent planning rises above the level of inflation. [...]
New bonus rules won’t achieve anything

November 15, 2009

SPIN is an effective device to con the public but only in the short-term – eventually, the truth tends to prevail. Take the flagship economic component of Wednesday’s Queen’s Speech, which Her Majesty will have to read out to Parliament. As we report on page 1, the government will introduce its much-trailed law to formalise [...]
Q & A : THEBONUS CLAMPDOWN

November 15, 2009

Q.HOWWILLTHENEWRULESAFFECTBANKERS’ PAYA.A code of conduct on bonuses published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)in February this year said firms needed to ensure that remuneration policies did not expose them to excessive risk. It set out the proportion of bonuses that needed to be deferred and how long deferrals should be, how much should be awarded [...]