WEEKEND DIGEST:Labour Ministers want a new top universal social charge of 10 per cent for those earning more than €100,000 to be introduced in the budget as a "solidarity tax", the Sunday Times reports. The measure was proposed at a recent Labour parliamentary party meeting by Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock (above), the paper reports. It says the three percentage point increase for high earners could raise €71 million annually. It says the proposal has the support of other Labour and Fine Gael Ministers.
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Former Bank of Ireland boss Brian Goggin is involved in deals on the buyout of nearly €250 million of insurance policies from financial institutions, the Sunday Independent reports.
Mr Goggin is a director of Financial Credit Investments, which is linked to a Wall Street private equity group Apollo.
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Barclays is to cut the salaries of some of its leading investment bankers by as much as half in a bid to reduce costs and show that the bank has fundamentally changed following the financial crisis. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the bank – working to rebuild its reputation after the exit of chief executive Bob Diamond (above) and chairman Marcus Agius following the Libor scandal – will undertake the drastic measure after a series of reviews into the future of its investment banking arm. The report states that investment bankers who earn a base salary of between £500,000 and £3 million will see their salaries cut by between 30 and 40 per cent.
In certain instances, salaries will be cut by as much as half. The reductions – still to be finalised by senior management within the division – will be drafted in at the start of next year following conversations with those concerned.
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Irish News & Media (INM) aims to cut €25 million a year from its cost base following a comprehensive review, the Sunday Times reports.
INM has started discussions with employee groups and is expected to launch a voluntary redundancy scheme, the paper reports. Measures being finalised will also focus on the group’s printing arrangements and staff costs, particularly among senior and middle management.
The company is in talks to refinance €423 million in debt, which matures in May 2014.
