Best paid FTSE 100 finance director

Kevin Hayes has the mantle of the highest-paid finance director in the FTSE 100 bestowed on him by Accountancy , a journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales .

His remuneration in fact fell from $4.4m to $3.6m (£2.9m) for the year to March, thanks to weaker sterling, but in difficult times it was enough to beat Tesco's Andrew Higginson, on about £2.75m, who has gone on to run Tesco Bank.

The amount may also not be significant in the context of Lehman Brothers, where Mr Hayes worked in a senior positions in London and New York until March 2007, when he made an impeccably timed move to Man Group.

Read more here.

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Will California become America's first failed state?

Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state government is issuing IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has gone so catastrophically wrong?

California has a special place in the American psyche. It is the Golden State: a playground of the rich and famous with perfect weather. It symbolises a lifestyle of sunshine, swimming pools and the Hollywood dream factory.

Read more here.

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Bank of England holds rates

The Bank of England left interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent for the seventh month running on Thursday and said it would keep its 175 billion pound asset buying programme in place, as expected.

Focus has now switched to the November meeting when the Monetary Policy Committee will have new economic forecasts, though most analysts do not expect the BoE will change policy then either given Britain may now be emerging from recession.

"Right now we believe they will announce no further additions to the purchase programme in November, but much will depend on the economic news between now and then," said George Buckley, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank.

Read more .

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Xerox launches $6.4bn takeover

Photocopier giant Xerox has unveiled a takeover deal which takes it into the fields of data management and technology outsourcing.

It is buying Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) in a cash and shares deal worth $6.4bn (£4bn).

Read more here.

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Scottish Housing Finance Gains Access to 50 Million Pound European Lending Facility From EIB

Scottish Housing Associations are to benefit from access to a £50 million European lending facility, the Scottish Government and the European Investment Bank announced today.

Housing and Communities Minister Alex Neil said gaining access to alternative sources of funding at competitive rates signalled a 'new dawn' in Scotland's ability to attract and access European investment.

The fund will offer housing associations an alternative private lending source helping to support new affordable private home developments and jobs in the house building sector.

The Minister met the Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Brussels today to shake hands on the deal and scope out opportunities for making available European lending in other areas.

Read more here.

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Kesa appoints new finance director

Comet owner Kesa has appointed Dominic Platt as it finance director.

Platt will join as an executive director to the board of the electricals retailer in January.

He leaves Cable and Wireless where he is group financial controller.

Read more here.

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Businesses call for public finance action

Britain’s business leaders have urged whichever political party wins the general election to commit to balancing the country’s books within six years and to reducing the country’s burgeoning public sector pension deficit.

The CBI will publish a report today which sets out the demands of business for the political party that wins next year’s general election.

John Cridland, the deputy director-general of the CBI, said: “Any new government will have a lot to do in its early days, but the economy must be central to its plans, especially given the state of the public finances and the global downturn. Our proposals make clear what the priorities should be to help put our economy on the road to sustainable growth.

Read more here.

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Student Finance Guide Launched

In time for the start of the new academic year comes a new book from the Complete University Guide experts on how students can manage their money. Published in association with UCAS, The Complete University Guide to Student Finance explains the intricacies of the student funding system, including loans, bursaries, grants and tuition fees – and gives useful advice on how students can draw up their own budgets.

Covering accommodation, food, travel and study costs, it describes how students can fund their time at university – and, most important of all, it contains a complete list of bursaries and scholarships in higher education. This is a book that will be of especial help to those in the final year of school who are preparing to apply to university. That’s because of its list of bursaries that enables students to compare one university with another. But it will also be valuable for freshers starting out on a three- or four-year degree.

Read more here.

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Gold bounces back to around $1,010

Spot gold rallied to trade around $1,010 on Thursday as the precious metal continued to look to the dollar for direction, though a sense of caution prevailed due to the threat of heavy liquidation of futures positions.

Spot gold -- which fell in the previous session after the dollar turned higher -- is currently down about 1 percent from the 18-month high of $1,023.85 hit last Thursday.

"The trend of a strong euro and weak dollar is what's keeping the price of gold above $1,000," said Shuji Sugata, a manager at the Mitsubishi Corp Futures & Securities research team.

Read more here.

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Peru miner signs deal to control Chile gold site

Peru gold miner Minera IRL Ltd said on Wednesday it has signed a deal to acquire control of the La Falda porphyry in the Maricunga gold belt of northern Chile, where it plans to begin drilling by the close of 2009.
The London- and Lima-listed company owns the small Corihuarmi mine in southern Peru, which produced some 52,000 ounces of gold in 2008.

Minera IRL (MIRL.L) (IRL.LM) said it inked the deal to operate the La Falda project with Catalina Resources.

Read more here.

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Independent closes in on €200 million debt deal

Embattled newspaper publisher Independent News & Media (IN&M) this afternoon confirmed that it was close to unveiling a financial rescue that would allow the owner of The Independent to pay off an overdue €200 milion bond.

The bailout means that Sir Anthony O'Reilly, the company's controlling shareholder, will see his 28.5 per cent stake diluted by half because bondholders will receive a stake understood to be about 45 per cent of the reconstructed company.

Read more here.

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Fisker Gets $529 Millon Loan

US hybrid car startup Fisker Automotive has been awarded a 529 million USD loan from the US Department of Energy. The loan is conditional, and will be used by Fisker to develop the two lines of plug-in hybrids currently on the company's drawing board.

Initially, the much-publicised Karma project will receive 169.3 million USD of the loan to help with final pre-manufacture development ahead of the luxury car's scheduled launch next summer. This part of the loan is also earmarked for developing the tools and equipment needed for future production and models.

Read more here.

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World Bank approves USD 4.3 billion loan to India

The World Bank will provide USD 4.3-billion loan for 4 Indian projects, including USD 2 billion for recapitalisation of state-owned banks.

The assistance would "bolster infrastructure investments, enable public sector banks to expand credit and strengthen power transmission networks to meet the growing demand," said a World Bank release.

Read more here.

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Home buyers defy seasonal dip in housing market as new home loans jump 81pc

Home buyers defied the seasonal dip in the housing market as figures suggested the number of mortgages approved for those buying a new home jumped by more than 80 per cent.

A total of 38,000 loans for house purchase were approved in August, up 81 per cent compared with a year ago, according to the British Bankers’ Association.

The sharp rise comes on the back of significantly low levels of lending last year during the banking crisis.

Read more here.

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Finance staff at Capita strike in pay row

Unite the union members at finance company Capita will strike for two days (23rd and 24th September) in a dispute over a “derisory pay offer”.

Staff in Capita, Glasgow are angry that despite continued profit increases the company is refusing to give staff a fair pay rise. The two days of industrial action in Glasgow will have a damaging impact on the contracts that the finance company run out of this Scottish office.

Unite members will be joined on their picket line by local MPs and MSPs. Unite has written to Capita’s clients to make them aware of the breakdown in negotiations between the union and Capita.

Read more here.

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UK 'blocking tough finance rules'

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck has accused the UK of blocking tougher financial rules ahead of the G20 summit.

"There clearly is a lobby in London that wants to defend its competitive advantage tooth and claw," Mr Steinbrueck told Stern magazine.

Germany and France have led calls for more restrictions on banks, which have been resisted by the US and UK.

Read more here.

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Bad Credit Debt Consolidation Loan for managing debt

Due to the fall in world economy, many credit card holders have fallen into the vicious trap of debts. M ore the number of credit cards, the more debts you have. So it becomes difficult to keep track of different interest rates of different credit cards. Also, it is a headache to manage your debts. In such a situation, a credit card debt consolidation company comes as a great help.

The company provides solution to all your problems. If you think you need help with your debts, you are at the right place. A free debt consolidation company enables you to pay off all your previous credit card debts by taking one consolidated loan. The risk is reduced and also the rate of interest paid by the customer is reduced. One can also secure a fixed interest. With the help of a credit card debt management company, you can get free debt consolidation with easy and hassle free proceedings. There are many advantages of availing credit card debt consolidation loans .

Read more here.

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Small Business Lending Totalled £796 Million

Since collecting monthly data last October, the BBA has been unpicking the net monthly changes to assess levels of new lending to small businesses.

New term lending to small businesses totalled £796 million in July. However, businesses are using their cashflow or deposits to repay loans or overdrafts and in some cases, maturing loans are not being rolled over, or elements are being written off, giving rise to a net repayment of lending in July.

Read more here.

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Obama Pushes New Message While Opposition Continues

In his Sunday talk show offensive (related story: Obama Blankets Airwaves To Push For Health Reform) President Barack Obama called for civility, advertised his willingness to consider malpractice reform, said a proposed tax on health benefits would not have a large impact on working people and reiterated that illegal immigrants would not receive government coverage under the plans, the Washington Post reports. "We all have an obligation to try to conduct this conversation in a civil way," he said (Connolly and Shear, 9/21).

Read more here.

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China's largest oil producer vows to maintain prominence for 50 more years

Daqing Oilfield, China's largest oil producer, wants to retain its prominence in the country's petroleum industry for another 50 years.

Wang Yongchun, general manager of Daqing Oilfield Co. Ltd, said Tuesday the oilfield would remain an important energy base and continue to contribute a large proportion of China's energy supplies up to 2060.

Wang said factors such as adequate underground fossil resources, scientific progress and well-trained personnel would help achieve this end.

Read more here.

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Rocket Stocks for the Week

Stocks hit new highs for 2009 on Friday after ending higher in nine of the last 11 trading sessions. That streak could find another stumbling point today, as the market opens slightly in the red.
But the rest of the week could hold a markedly different message for investors. On Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee begins its meeting on interest rate policy, and though most analysts don't expect any groundbreaking announcements to stem from the meeting, a good message from the Fed could signal investors to turn bullish once again.

Read more here.

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Students Should Take Responsibility For Student Loans Debt

The Lib Dems are busy agonising over student tuition fees. Party leader Nick Clegg's efforts to accept reality by ditching the pledge to scrap tuition fees have met with a rebuff from his sandal wearing Party activists congregating in Bournemouth.
We all know that drastic cuts in public spending will be needed whoever wins the election.

Nick Clegg called for 'savage' cuts in public spending in the draft of a speech - but then didn't use the word when delivering the speech.
A very Lib Dem compromise. But the country certainly can't afford a spending spree at the moment.

Read more here.

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Chamber Honors Small Businesses

Companies ranging from event planning to debt solutions were nominated for the Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Awards. While they seem different, their keys to success are similar.

In a small office the work is ever present. Employees at Debt Busters work on behalf of clients to help them pay off overwhelming bills.

"We are in an unique niche. We represent businesses that are having difficulty and consumers," said Debt Busters President David Fishman.

Fishman says it's everyone's commitment to helping the customer that sets Debt Busters apart. He says it's an honor that his company was picked as a finalist for Small Business of the Year. "That kind if recognition among your neighbors really means a lot to the people here," he said.

Read more here.

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Europe, US, China must take IMF medicine

Persuading Europe, the United States and China to accept International Monetary Fund advice on economic polices may be difficult, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday.

The United States wants a discussion of a broad framework to solve the world's economic imbalances at a summit of G20 leaders in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday.

The IMF would be charged with sketching out a plan and then checking whether each country was making progress.

Read more here.

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Austria's economy is expected to resume growth in 2010, and authorities should make plans now to reduce debt once recovery is under way, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

In a statement following its regular consultation with Austria, the IMF said debt should be "brought back on a downward path to accommodate the costs of population aging and avoid crowding out the private sector."

Read more here.

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Take Up Fixed Rate Bonds

Savers are being encouraged by the banks and building societies to lock their money away for a fixed period, rather than placing it in an easy access account, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk.

Over the last six months the average rate offered on fixed rate bonds has increased from 2.87pc to 3.53pc, with the highest bond rate on offer now more than 2.00pc above that available on an easy access account.

Read more here.

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Tax Review Called For By Finance Directors

As party conference season starts the business community gets behind calls for corporation tax to be reduced.

The political debate is currently firmly focused on cutting the UK budget deficit with all parties talking of cutting government expenditure.

The debate is yet to fully focus on on increasing taxes - but business representatives have indicated that they are firmly against any rises in corporation tax.

A study by financial advisers Grant Thornton shows that 84% of Finance Directors surveyed fear the rate of corporation tax will either stay the same or increase after the next general election despite calls for a cut, potentially leaving UK PLC hamstrung.

Read more here.

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Booker Leaves Northern Foods

Northern Foods today parted company with Andrew Booker, its finance director, after only ten months with the group.

The company, which is responsible for Goodfella's pizzas and Fox's biscuits, said: "Andrew will be standing down by mutual agreement."

He will stay on for a further three months until December 31 and will be succeeded by Simon Herrick, the finance director of Kesa Electricals.

Mr Booker was previously European finance director with Gallaher, the cigarette maker that was taken over by Japan Tobacco in a deal worth $19 billion in 2006.

Read more here.

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Can Amazon Be Wal-Mart of the Web?

THE hum of 102 rooftop air conditioners and a chorus of beeping electric carts provide the acoustic backdrop in Amazon.com’s 605,000-square-foot distribution facility on this city’s west side. But the center’s employees can almost always hear Terry Jones.

On a recent summer afternoon, Mr. Jones, an “inbound support associate” making $12 an hour, steered a hand-pushed cart through the packed aisles and shouted his location to everyone in earshot: “Cart coming through. Yup! Watch yourself, please!” Mr. Jones explained that he was just making his time at Amazon “joyful and fun” while complying with the company’s rigorous safety rules.

Read more here.

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RBS 'considering' cash call option

Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland is weighing up a new fundraising to prevent the taxpayer's stake in the ailing bank from rising further, it has been reported.

Chief executive Stephen Hester has begun informal talks with investors over a possible cash call, the Sunday Times said.

Mr Hester is said to be considering the move to pay the £19.5 billion fees due to the Government to take part in a taxpayer-backed insurance scheme for more than £300 billion in toxic assets.

Read more here.

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NBF backs resource stocks in energy-sector upgrade

If you picked up bank stocks when the stock market was at its lowest in March when financials were out of favour, then they’re definitely worth holding on to for their once-in-a-lifetime dividend yields that topped out with Bank of Montreal paying 11.64 per cent per annum. Bet you wish you could turn the clock back on that one!

Since then, share prices of Canada’s banks have soared an average of 105 per cent and while the stocks remain attractive, the average yield of the Big Six has fallen to 4.4 per cent from 9.1 per cent. BMO is still delivering the most at 5.4 per cent. Even so, investment advisers are less positive on bank stocks and financials than they were a couple of months ago.

Read more here.

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State's a Wreck -- Can It Be Fixed?

Three inarguable facts dominate California's system of financing state government:
• It's a mess.
• It's currently a mess in large part due to the deepest and most pervasive global recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• It's been a mess for much of the past three decades because the combination of an out-of date tax system, reckless spending and fickle voters has made state government extremely vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the economy.

While there's not much the state's elected leaders can do about the worldwide economic woes, they have tried for decades -- mostly unsuccessfully -- to wrestle with the triple threat of taxes, spending and ballot-box budgeting.

Read more here.

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Automakers bank on ‘careful’ habits

Big cars and trucks are out. Smaller ones that offer more for your dollar are in. And many drivers will hang onto the new cars they buy longer.

We’ve seen some of this before – in the 1970s. But there’s reason to believe that this time, American car-buying habits have changed forever.

Scarred by the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and still leery of high gas prices, people are walking into showrooms intent on spending less. The trend is strongest among baby boomers, who are 44 to 63 years old and make up a quarter of the population, dealers and industry analysts say.

Read more here.

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PDIC eyes premium from sale of UCPB

WITH government-sequestered United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) returning to profitability in the first half of 2009, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) will try to sell its equity interest in the bank at a premium should the Supreme Court rule with finality on the bank ownership in favor of the government.

“Ideally we should be looking at cost recovery. But with the bank now making profits, of course we can get some premium,” PDIC president Jose Nograles told reporters.

In 2003 PDIC extended a P20-billion financial assistance to help rehabilitate UCPB, which suffered from heavy deposit withdrawals when the Supreme Court ruled that the coconut-levy funds used to put up the bank were public money.

Eight billion pesos of the loan from PDIC had been settled already while the balance of P12 billion had been converted into equity in the bank.

Read more here.

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All That Glitters...

OF ALL THE MANY MISERIES that man faces on his journey from cradle to grave, few of them can be eased by enlightened central banking, writes Bill Bonner in his Daily Reckoning – and a credit contraction is not one of them.

Japan proved it. After the Japanese market collapsed in 1990, public officials went to work with their characteristic energy and incompetence. They lowered the cost of borrowing to nearly zero. But did consumers take up the money and add to the demand for bread and bicycles? No. They didn't want to borrow. They wanted to save. They had speculated during the previous bubble years and lost money. Then, with retirement approaching, a penny saved was worth even more to them than a penny earned. They saved more than ever...and the consumer economy sank.

Read more here.

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Jobless Reaches 70 Year High In California

California’s unemployment rate in August hit its highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the nation’s incipient economic recovery continues to elude millions of Americans looking for work.

While job losses continue to fall, the state’s new unemployment rate — 12.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — is far above the national average of 9.7 percent and places California, the nation’s most-populous state, fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island. Statistics kept by the state show California’s unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in 1940, said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the California Employment Development Department.While California has convulsed under the same blows as the rest of the country over the last two years, its exposure to both the foreclosure crisis and the slowdown in construction — an industry that has fueled growth in much of the state over the last decade — has been outsized.

Read more here.

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China bank regulator warns of loan risks

China's bank regulator has called on the nation's banking sector to step up risk management and strengthen compliance as explosive credit growth is leading to greater risks.

"With bank loans growing rapidly, all kinds of risks are rising in the banking industry," Liu Mingkang, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, said in the statement posted on the commission's website Friday.

"Financial institutes in the banking industry must do their upmost to uphold the standard management limits and strike a solid basis for risk management."

In an effort to counter the global financial crisis, Chinese banks issued 8.15 trillion yuan (1.2 trillion dollars) in new loans in the first eight months of the year, exceeding a five trillion yuan target set for 2009.

Read more here.

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Shareholder Row Over Ttianium Project

Russian and Indian shareholders in a $260 million titanium project have announced a split amid mutual accusations of contract violations, but will continue building a factory in east India each on their own, the Russian partner said on Saturday.
Yury Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's State Property Management Agency that holds 51% in the joint venture, said the agency made a decision to end cooperation with India's Saraf after visiting the Orissa State, where the factory is planned to be built, on Thursday and meeting the local industry minister.

"The Russian side has received the Indian partner's notification that it wants to withdraw from the project and gave its consent," Medvedev said.

"The Orissa government has reaffirmed its interest in the project and pledged its support," he added.

Read more here.

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Sberbank to sell unpaid loan assets

Sberbank (SBER03.MM) is happy to remain Russia's largest lender and hopes to sell assets acquired through unpaid loans during the crisis -- from shops to oil fields -- within three years, its head said on Saturday.

Russia slipped into its first recession in a decade this year and the resulting rise in non-performing loans has seen a wide range of collateral pass into the hands of banks.

"Our job is finance ... We must, as quickly as possible, get rid of these assets," Sberbank chief executive German Gref said at an economic forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Read more here.

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Asian Shares Rally

Asian stocks hit their highest level in 13 months on Thursday on signs the global economic recovery could be strengthening, while the dollar slid to a fresh one-year low as investor optimism eroded its safe haven appeal.

Shares in Japan rose 1.7 percent as the Bank of Japan upgraded its view on the economy and a Reuters Tankan survey showed the mood among Japanese manufacturers this month at a one-year high.

China shares also rallied, with Shanghai stocks jumping 2 percent, as a senior Chinese government economist said China's economy may regain double-digit annual growth in the fourth quarter. Stronger-than-expected growth though could also bring monetary tightening closer to the horizon.

Read more here.

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Record Fall In UK Lending

The flow of net lending to British firms fell in July by the biggest amount on record, the Bank of England said on Friday, in a further sign that more may need to be done to get credit flowing in the economy again.

However, mortgage approvals by major lenders rose in August for the seventh consecutive month to 57,000 from 53,000 in July, the BoE's monthly Trends in Lending report showed.

The net flow of lending to businesses fell 15.5 billion pounds in July after a 3.6 billion pounds fall in June -- the biggest decline since the series began in 1998.

Read more here.

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Nigerian Investments Hit $20Billion

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) annual study of worldwide investments report 2009 released yesterday ranks Nigeria in the 19th position among the first 20 countries in the world that attracted more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2008.

Releasing the report for the Sub-Saharan Africa, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Engr. Mustafa Bello, said the total Foreign Direct Investment that came into the country increased from $12 billion in 2007 to $20 billion (N3 trillion) in 2008 which shot the country into the league of first 20 in the world.

Read more here.

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Aiful Seeks Debt Reprieve

Ailing Japanese consumer finance company Aiful said Friday it will ask creditors to let it delay repayments of 280 billion yen ($3.1 billion) in debt, triggering massive sell orders of its stock and pressuring other financial shares.

Aiful shares were untraded Friday due to a glut of sell orders. The announcement rattled investors and contributed to the decline in the Japanese stock market. Aiful closed at 184 yen Thursday, down 5.6 percent from a day earlier.

Read more here.

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Tough Economic Road Ahead For Japan

Faced with the daunting task of reinvigorating the world's second-biggest economy, Japan's freshly installed prime minister turned to one of his party's most experienced hands as finance chief.

Delivering change may well depend on veterans like Hirohisa Fujii who know how to work the system.

At 77, Fujii is the new Cabinet's oldest member whose lengthy resume includes a previous stint as finance minister in the early 1990s. Earlier in his career, he spent more than two decades working in the Ministry of Finance.

Read more here.

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Tesco Property Finance sells £565 Million

Bluechip retailer Tesco ( TESO - news - people ) tapped a further 565 million pounds from Europe's recovering asset-backed securities (ABS) market on Wednesday after selling a second batch of bonds secured on a portfolio of real estate.

Sole arranger Goldman Sachs ( GS - news - people ) said it had received about 1.3 billion pounds of orders for the bonds, more than twice the size of the proposed offer.

Read more here.

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Ultimate Finance Shares Up

Shares in Ultimate Finance (UFG.L), which provides financial services to small businesses, leap 52.2 percent after the firm reports above-expectation full-year results and joins the dividend list.

Read more here.

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Increase In London Finance Jobs

Job openings in London’s financial- services industry rose by 18 percent in August compared with the previous month, the biggest gain in job vacancies this year, according to a survey by recruitment firm Morgan McKinley.

The number of openings climbed to 4,158 in August compared with 3,528 vacancies in July, the London-based company said today. That’s the largest pool of jobs available since October 2008. Still, the figure was 39 percent lower than August 2008.

Read more here.

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Irish Stock Market Revived By 'Bad Bank' Plan

The battered Irish economy enjoyed a mini-revival on Thursday as banking shares soared after the government unveiled its “bad bank” plans.

Allied Irish Bank gained 30pc and Bank of Ireland rose 18pc as the overall market rose 4pc.

On Wednesday, the Dáil confirmed that its controversial National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) will spend €54bn (£48bn) buying bad debts from the country’s beleaguered banks.

Read more here.

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