George Osborne’s Budget will pave the way for Mark Carney, incoming Bank of England governor, to come to the rescue of the economy as the chancellor sets the scene for a new era of looser monetary policy, reports the Financial Times.
The chancellor is resisting suggestions by Vince Cable, business secretary, that he should boost growth by relaxing his Plan A with a new programme of spending on schools, roads and housing – funded by extra borrowing.
Split RBS into good and bad banks, says Bank of England governor
Sir Mervyn King has blown open the debate about the future of Royal Bank of Scotland by describing the current situation as “nonsense” and calling for the bailed out bank to be broken up into a good and bad bank, reports the Guardian.
Less than a week after the Edinburgh-based bank insisted it could be ready for partial privatisation ahead of the May 2015 election, the Bank of England governor laid bare his disagreement with the chancellor, George Osborne, over the future of RBS, saying the state-backed bank could not be sold off until it acknowledges the full scale of its bad debts.
Economy is turning the corner, says Cameron
David Cameron will say on Thursday that there are finally signs “we can turn our economy round” – warning that the Government will not change strategy in the forthcoming Budget, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The Prime Minister will express cautious optimism that the country may be emerging from the economic crisis that started almost five years ago but that there is still a “long hard road” ahead.
KPMG at risk of losing vital HSBC audit
KPMG could lose the biggest audit contract in corporate Britain after HSBC decided to consider bringing in a fresh pair of eyes to vet its accounts, reports the Financial Times.
The bank said it would put its audit contract out to tender for the first time in more than two decades in the most striking sign yet that regulatory pressure is starting to break down the ties that bind many big companies to their auditor.
Floats back in fashion as market conditions improve
Businesses across Europe will take advantage of buoyant market conditions and list their shares over the next few months, it was claimed, reports the Independent.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountants, said a growing number of companies are likely to follow the route recently taken by Crest Nicholson, Countrywide and esure by announcing floats on stock exchanges across the Continent.
Thousands of jobs to go as Thomas Cook wields the axe
Another victim of the jobs carnage on the high street emerged yesterday when Thomas Cook said that it would shed another 2,500 jobs, reports The Times.
The cost-cutting, which is being driven by Harriet Green, the travel group’s new chief executive, will involve the closure of 195 travel agencies boasting 1,600 jobs as part of a three-year turnaround plan designed to save £140m.
