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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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