Downbeat speech from a resolute chancellor
Economics Editor Faisal Islam reflects on a low-key Conservative conference speech from George Osborne – one which nonetheless contained a few nuggets of new government policy.
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From the euro crisis to Facebook’s IPO, Spain’s banks and the fiscal cliff, 2012 was bursting with business news – even knocking the royal baby off the front pages (on occasion). Here’s the countdown.
Banks sold small businesses interest rate swaps to protect them from increases in interest rates. The problem is, hidden penalties began to kick in when the rates tumbled.
The Serious Fraud Office confirms that three British nationals have been taken to a London police station as part of the investigation into the rigging of the Libor interbank lending rate.
Banks are still pressurising staff to sell products which may be unsuitable for customers, despite a number of mis-selling scandals, research from consumer group Which? finds.
As the living wage rises from £7.20 to £7.45, Boris Johnson joins Labour in calling for more employers to boost low wages. But is it bad for business? Channel 4 News investigates.
No-frills accounts set up to help vulnerable and low-income customers could be threatened by banks cutting back on the services offered through them, a report claims.
Chancellor George Osborne describes a move by RBS to exit a state-backed insurance scheme as a “step” towards returning the bank to the private sector.
We note that Boris only referred to private companies in his speech, not local authorities. That may be because all the London councils that have achieved accreditation or have applied for it are run by Labour.
Nearly nine out of 10 Britons want bankers put in jail if found guilty of fraud or manipulating financial markets, a new survey claims.
Economics Editor Faisal Islam reflects on a low-key Conservative conference speech from George Osborne – one which nonetheless contained a few nuggets of new government policy.
The fate of British bankers is in the hands of 10 people tasked with reforming a culture of recklessness and crime. Meet the banking standards commission, who will tame the masters of the universe.
An independent review into practices around Libor calls for a new body to regulate the inter-bank lending rate, but falls short of scrapping the benchmark.
The bottom line is that Bank of England figures for growth rates in lending to small firms have been in a downward spiral since 2009 and are showing no signs of improvement.
A green light for George Osborne to miss the debt target? In his interview on Channel 4 News, Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King hints that slow world growth would be an “acceptable excuse”.
A survey by the consumer charity Which? finds that all major high street banks score below average for customer satisfaction despite dominating the retail banking market.