Financial Times general
Temasek to take $500m stake in Markit
Fund’s move is a bet that tough regulations have created a lasting shift in spending in the financial industry towards risk management and data
Categories: General
Fortaleza strikes first goal for Brazil
The Arena Castelão is the first of the south American nation’s football stadiums to be finished for the 2014 World Cup
Categories: General
Plain cigarette packaging plan dropped
Shares in Imperial Tobacco rise on news that branded packets can continue to be sold, granting the industry a reprieve from full advertising clampdown
Categories: General
All eyes on ECB as markets expect rate cut
An increasing number of economists expect a 0.25 point interest rate reduction but also question the effectiveness of any such decision
Categories: General
Renminbi marches to new high against dollar
Mini-surge by the currency fuels speculation the People’s Bank of China could be preparing the ground for a more flexible exchange rate mechanism
Categories: General
Google gives Lending Club a hand
Search group takes stake in online loans company as part of a $125m purchase of shares from existing investors that also sees Foundation Capital increase its investment
Categories: General
New ad tools boost Facebook revenues
Revenues from tools including ‘paid posts’, which allow small businesses to pay to send status updates to more users, are starting to appear in the top line
Categories: General
Apple avoids potential $9bn tax bill
Apple said it would partly fund a record-breaking $55bn share buyback programme by using money raised in the corporate bond market
Categories: General
Global tablet shipments jump as PCs fall
There were 49.2m tablets shipped in the first quarter, up from 20.3m a year ago, while PC shipments fell 14 per cent
Categories: General
Tories prepare to sell bank stakes
Conservatives close to chancellor say Darling paid too much for shares in RBS and Lloyds when he injected nearly £66bn into banks’ bailouts
Categories: General
Fed willing to increase QE3 in new shift
Federal Open Market Committee linked changes in the rate of purchases to prices as well as jobs, as latest data show hiring falling below expectations
Categories: General
Irish president warns on EU social risk
Higgins urges ECB reform and adds that there would be no ‘glowing future’ for a bloc that allowed divisions to open up between states
Categories: General
Europe May Day protests target austerity
Although less boisterous than in some recent years, demonstrations across the continent demanded a reversal of economic policies based on cutbacks
Categories: General
EU looks at limiting Bangladesh trade
In an attempt to exert pressure on Bangladesh to improve its factory standards, Brussels is considering restrictions on the country’s exports
Categories: General
Merkel slips in polls after tax scandal
German voter support for the chancellor’s party has fallen to its lowest level this year in the wake of a tax evasion case involving a prominent ally
Categories: General
Evidence of global slowdown mounts
While evidence of a slowdown solidified in a number of Asia-Pacific economies, Japan and the UK benefited from weaker currencies
Categories: General
Buffett pays $2bn in move on Israel’s IMC
The deal reflects the success of Berkshire Hathaway’s first overseas purchase in 2006, when it bought 80 per cent of IMC from the Wertheimer family
Categories: General
Key investor hits at gold miners
The warning comes after the share price of Barrick Gold fell to a 20-year low last week, losing its crown as the world’s largest gold miner by market value to GoldCorp
Categories: General
Dublin’s taxes help business before public
Part four of our series on how governments help companies lower their tax burden examines a close link between multinationals and Dublin’s Treasury
Categories: General
Sony leadership to forgo bonuses
Forty top executives to give up Y1bn in total after they failed to keep a promise to return the Japanese group’s consumer electronics division to profit
Categories: General
The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...
"If Mr Cable had his way, all the big banks would be broken up and bonuses would be virtually eliminated - a sure-fire way in my view of guaranteeing an end to the UK’s ability to compete as an international financial centre. Let’s not forget that this is a man who is on record as saying that everyone who works in a bank has an ‘aristocratic lifestyle’ clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding of the sector." A tough line on bankers’ bonuses could make a brain drain of financial talent a distinct possibility, warns Paul Marsden. Read more