George Osborne starts £2bn Royal Bank of Scotland sell-off August 4, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has kick started the government's first sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) today, a sale likely to raise £2bn for the government. UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the agency which holds the government's 79 per cent stake in RBS, announced its intention to sell about 600m shares, representing 5.2 per [...]
Osborne starts to offload RBS with £2bn sale August 4, 2015 MINISTERS last night fired the starting gun on returning Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to private hands, offloading a £2bn stake in the bank seven years after it was rescued by taxpayers. The government is selling a 5.2 per cent of the high street lender, equivalent to 600m shares, to take its interests down to [...]
Government sells further one per cent stake in Lloyds Banking Group August 3, 2015 The government has sold another one per cent of its stake in Lloyds Banking Group as it looks to reduce its holdings in the bailed-out lender. Now just under 14 per cent of the bank is owned by the taxpayer; at its peak in 2009, 40 per cent was publicly-owned. In total £14bn has [...]
Chancellor George Osborne: Links with the European Union should be based on free trade July 29, 2015 As negotiations between the UK and European Union around terms of the UK's membership continue, George Osborne has said the relationship should be based around free trade. Read more: Osborne says France and UK can strike deal The economic benefits are key to EU membership, and should therefore be at the heart of renegotiation, the chancellor [...]
George Osborne’s budget deficit elimination plan gets IMF seal of approval July 28, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne’s plans to eliminate the budget deficit by 2020 received a thumbs up from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday. While some have argued that his aim to balance the state books is a risk to the UK’s economic recovery, the IMF said that sustainable growth would require moving away from public [...]
“Catastrophic failure”: Careworkers’ warning to George Osborne on minimum wage July 27, 2015 The government has been warned that George Osborne’s new minimum wage for carers could prove to be a “catastrophic failure” if all costs are not fully funded. In a letter to parliament, the UK Homecare Association (UHA) said it welcomed the government’s commitment to low-paid workers, but said it estimates that “to address the existing [...]
Lord Sewel joins ‘wannabe wolves’ Tom Osborne and Paul Flowers amid cocaine allegations July 27, 2015 Is it just us, or are powerful people getting complacent when it comes to excess? This weekend video footage emerged of cross-bench peer Lord Sewel appearing to drink champagne, snort some powder and make merry with two ladies of questionable repute. Sewel’s sad soiree comes almost exactly one month after a young [...]
George Osborne becomes favourite for Conservative leadership, knocking Boris Johnson into second place July 27, 2015 George Osborne is now the most likely Conservative to replace David Cameron as leader of the party, according to William Hill. Read more: July Budget 2015: Chancellor George Osborne plans to crack down on non-doms The chancellor's odds were increased today following a month of rising popularity since his Budget speech, and he now [...]
EU Referendum: David Cameron “pencils in June 2016” for Brexit vote as George Osborne heads to Paris July 26, 2015 A referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union could be held within the next year, with June 2016 pencilled in for the vote, the Independent on Sunday reports. David Cameron has promised a vote before the end of 2017 and has embarked on a whistlestop tour of Europe since winning the election. meeting leaders to [...]
FCA boss Martin Wheatley: Disappointed to be leaving with “unfinished business” July 22, 2015 Martin Wheatley, the FCA's chief executive who has been unceremoniously ousted by chancellor George Osborne has spoken of his upset at leaving while there is still “unfinished business”. Wheatley made his first public statement at the Financial Conduct Authority's annual public meeting this morning, just days after his shock departure was revealed on Friday. [...]
