Wednesday newspaper round-up: RBS, Belgium, Royal Mail...

15th Dec 2010 06:40

The Financial Services Authority is aiming to publish a fuller account of its controversial decision to clear the former directors of Royal Bank of Scotland of any wrongdoing.The move comes after a political outcry over the City regulator's earlier refusal to release the details of its findings. The volte face by the FSA follows mounting criticism of the way it has handled the fall-out from its 18-month probe into the collapse of one of Britain's biggest banks, amid the regulator's repeated insistence that it was legally bound to keep the contents of its investigation confidential, the FT reports.The housing market is likely to remain in an extremely gloomy state for "many years to come" as banks continue to restrict lending and a shaky economy deters buyers, Britain's biggest lending body has warned. The number of households falling into arrears will rise to 180,000 in 2011, equivalent to 1.6% of all mortgages, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The Government's decision to cut support for homeowners falling behind with their mortgage payments is expected to drive up repossessions by 11% next year to 40,000, the CML said, the Times reports. Microsoft is to try its hand at touchscreen "slate" devices next month in an effort to challenge Apple's iPad ? the runaway leader in the rapidly growing market for tablet computers. Steve Ballmer, the chief executive, will introduce the new devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He is also expected to unveil some features of Windows 8 software, the latest version of Microsoft's operating system for personal computers, the Times reports.Politicians, trade unions and business leaders will join hundreds of postal workers at a rally in Westminster today to protest against the Government's plans to privatise Royal Mail. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the event was aimed at giving MPs a "clear message of dissatisfaction" with the Postal Service Bill which paves the way for the privatisation, the Independent reports.A leading fund manager has warned that the US will be downgraded within two years because of its high levels of debt. Jim Leaviss, head of retail fixed interest at M&G, the fund management arm of the Prudential, said France remains "the AAA economy closest to a downgrade" and that the US "will lose its AAA rating - but not in 2011" as the two countries grapple with debt, the Telegraph reports.Europe's debt woes have moved closer to the core of monetary union after Standard & Poor's threatened to downgrade Belgium over the failure of Flemings and Walloons to form a government. The warning comes a day after the International Monetary Fund said Belgium "urgently needed" to control spending as public debt pushes above 100% of GDP. "A clear plan is needed to contain contagion from abroad," it said, the Telegraph reports.Shares in Betfair tumbled to 75% of their offer price yesterday, casting a pall over the flurry of flotations expected next year. While Betfair's listing in October was heavily oversubscribed, the market was disturbed by its maiden results as continuing concerns over the company's tax and regulatory position were compounded by softer than expected trading. After reporting first-quarter revenues up 22%, Betfair said yesterday that underlying revenue growth had slowed to only 1.6% in the second quarter, the Times reports.The government has gone back on a pre-election pledge to extend business rates relief on many small, empty premises. Bob Neill, the local government minister, said that from April 1 business rates must be paid on all empty properties with a rateable value of more than £2,600. He declined to extend relief on empty properties with a rateable value of less than £18,000, the Times reports.Airlines will make $15.1bn (£9.5bn) in profits in 2010, almost twice as much as forecast three months ago, according to an industry body. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said with fixed costs remaining constant, improved passenger numbers and revenues have gone straight to the bottom line for the world's airlines. IATA had forecast profits of $8.9bn for the 2010 financial year back in September, the Guardian reports.The first green cars to qualify for a subsidy of up to £5,000 were unveiled by the government yesterday. Under £400m plans to boost take-up of expensive electric and ultra-low carbon vehicles, buyers will be able to claim up to a quarter of the price of nine models of car: the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the Smart fortwo electric drive, the Peugeot iON, the Citroën CZero, the Nissan Leaf, the Tata Vista EV, the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the Vauxhall Ampera and the Chevrolet Volt, the Independent reports.A New York judge has thrown out a legal case against London-based Viking raider Jon Asgeir Johannesson, which had claimed he was the architect of a $2bn (£1.2bn) fraud. The court decided the case should not be tried in the US, because most of the key players are Icelanders and it revolves around the collapse of the Icelandic banks, the Telegraph reports.