Tuesday newspaper round-up: London property, Britain, Eurozone
David Cameron will promise today to unmask the corrupt offshore companies that are buying up luxury London properties using “plundered and laundered cash”. In a vow to stop Britain from becoming a haven for “dirty money”, the prime minister will disclose plans to shine a light on the secretive and sometimes criminal companies buying homes in the most exclusive - The Times
Banks
3,803.92
17:14 28/03/24
Barclays
183.20p
17:00 28/03/24
Food & Drug Retailers
3,914.51
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE 100
7,952.62
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE 350
4,383.21
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE All-Share
4,338.05
16:50 28/03/24
Tesco
296.60p
16:44 28/03/24
The chancellor has been warned that Britain’s economic recovery could be derailed by a new credit squeeze on small companies if proposals from a Swiss committee that sets global lending standards are implemented. Groups including the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Bankers’ Association have written to George Osborne urging him to intervene to lobby for a “rethink” over plans that could significantly increase the cost of lending to businesses. - The Times
The European Central Bank should stand ready to use the full force of its financial firepower to stop the eurozone from falling into renewed turmoil in the wake of the Greek crisis, according to the International Monetary Fund. In its annual health-check of the eurozone, the IMF made a controversial claim for the ECB to extend its unprecedented programme of quantitative easing beyond a provisional September 2016 end date. - The Daily Telegraph
Barclays may have to ask investors for more money to bolster its capital levels, just two years after last tapping shareholders for funds. The bank could need as much as £5bn, analysts at Bernstein Research said, as it has fallen behind rivals. Chief executive Antony Jenkins was fired earlier this month, with John McFarlane taking the reins as executive chairman. A changeover at the top is a traditional time to raise capital, and Mr Jenkins himself undertook a £5.8bn rights issue in 2013, within a year of taking over at the bank. - The Daily Telegraph
The number of people hunting for a new home has hit an 11-year high, according to new figures released on Monday. An average of 439 prospective buyers were signed up to each estate agent in the UK last month. This was the highest amount since August 2004, when 582 people joined agents. June's figure was also up sharply from the 383 recorded by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) in May. - The Daily Telegraph
Tesco has announced lavish plans to shower its senior executives with shares worth £25million. The rewards are likely to infuriate investors who have seen their holdings fall by nearly a fifth during the past 12 months. Britain’s biggest retailer, which has lurched from crisis to crisis, said all its senior executives could receive the huge shares windfalls in two different schemes. - The Daily Mail