Presiding over a judicial review into the arrests and searches warrants against Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz, Lord Justice Thomas said proper funding would allow the SFO to deal with investigations with “clarity”. “Far from being a complex investigation, this actually was relatively simple,” he said. “The bank has a major problem and the issue is whether the devices the bank used and Mr Robert and Mr Vincent [used] are legitimate. The agency, which investigates corporate crime, has faced drastic budget cuts which have shrunk its annual spend to around £34m. James Eadie QC, representing the SFO, said in reply to the judge: “I’m sure that the SFO would welcome that observation. Whether or not my other masters in the Treasury and elsewhere would welcome it ... Continue reading →

Secondly, he said, bank boards had been “taken in” by staff eager to distribute these lucrative products and had been persuaded that they were “customer-friendly”. Senior management should have taken a “firmer line”, he said. He spoke as Labour demanded changes to the Financial Services Bill, which it said would help small businesses involved in the row. Shadow Treasury minister Chris Leslie tabled an amendment to the Bill, debated last night in the Commons, under which the Government would have to bring forward plans to make it easier for groups of small and medium-sized businesses (SME) to take collective legal action over claims. He also wants SMEs to have the right to complain to the new consumer regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. The swap row ... Continue reading →

The parties had been due to go before the civil court in Santiago on Tuesday for a hearing at which the judge was expected to ask if an out of court solution was possible. Lawyers could have said no, paving the way for a trial. Instead, the two sides requested their legal proceedings to be suspended until June 22 while they talk. “Should this prove successful, it will enable the parties to overcome their current legal dispute,” said Anglo. Cynthia Carroll, Anglo’s chief executive, said: “We welcome this opportunity to re-engage with Codelco and explore whether a solution may be achievable.” Gerardo Jofré, Codelco’s chairman, said: “Codelco has always been open to reaching an agreement if it benefits the interests of the company and its ... Continue reading →

The transfer of Royal Mail pension assets to the state meant the public sector made a net repayment of £16.5bn in the first month of its current financial year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. The lift came after EU regulators earlier this year approved plans to transfer the Royal Mail pension scheme to the state. The move added £28bn of assets such as bonds, shares and properties to the state coffers. With the impact of this stripped out, the public sector borrowed far more than expected at £11.5bn for the month. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, said: “It is not the start to fiscal year 2012/13 that George Osborne would have been looking for.” The Office for Budget Responsibility ... Continue reading →

But it is worth noting that while gold has been hitting records in the last 12 months, they do not look quite as steep with the impact of inflation factored in. Prices were considerably higher, at around $2,400 an ounce in “real” terms, in the January of 1980, according to Capital Economics. Marcus Grubb, managing director for investment at the World Gold Council, said the reality is that gold can behave as both a risk-on and risk-off asset. To put it simply, sometimes it rises on gloomy news - but not always. One phenomenon at work is that at times of extreme market stress people can start selling their gold to cover losses elsewhere. That is what was blamed for two sharp dips in the ... Continue reading →

But wider economic fears are now driving markets. Xstrata on Friday closed at 914.7p and Glencore at 345.35p, signalling each Xstrata share was changing hands for less than 2.65 of Glencore’s share price – the lowest ratio since the deal was announced on February 7. “Trading is being driven by wider macro [economic] concerns,” said one analyst who asked not to be named. “But if the ratio persists and macro worries stay, Xstrata shareholders may decide that offer looks better than at the time of the deal.” But Glencore, which floated in London and Hong Kong in May last year, is thought to be somewhat protected by the small size of its free float, which makes it harder to short its stock. It is also ... Continue reading →