UBS chief attacks UK for neglect of banks - papers

The chief executive of UBS has attacked the government for its neglect of the City, warning tougher regulations could see investment banking businesses move from the UK and Europe to Asia and the US.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Oswald Grübel says: "The government is so quiet about [the City]. Only behind closed doors do they pay lip service to wanting to keep the City. If it is abandoned by the government one day, God help you."

He adds the US and Asia are likely to win a growing share of the investment banking business of his and other banks, at the expense of the UK and Switzerland, which has announced it will hold its banks to much stricter capital requirements than elsewhere.

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Hedge funds deliver $129bn in profits in H2 2010

Hedge funds recovered from the financial crisis to deliver profits of $129bn in the second half of 2010.

LCH Investments has calculated the 10 leading hedge funds alone made $28bn for their customers during this period, more than the combined net profits of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and HSBC over the same period, the Financial Times reports.

The firms themselves will have typically earned a 20% cut of profits, in addition to a fee of around 2% of funds under management.

Since being founded, the top 10 hedge funds have earned a total of $182bn for investors, with George Soros making $35bn for clients - after all fees - since he set up his Quantum Fund in 1973.

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Thinktank criticises increase in women's state retirement age

Government plans to raise the retirement age to 66 will hit women hardest, according to an independent thinktank.

Although the move could save around £2.5bn, the Pensions Policy Institute claims women will be worst affected as the majority of them are already out of the workforce by the time they reach their 60s and are unlikely to find work again, the Guardian reports.

The thinktank says ministers are giving people nearing retirement "insufficient notice" about the changes, which will come into effect in 2016.

It adds: "In 2010, around 76% of men aged between 55-59 [were] still economically active; by age 60-64 that figure drops to 54%. Once individuals have left the labour market at older ages it may be difficult for them to re-enter it."

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MBNA accused of 'torturing' credit card customer

The MBNA bank has been accused by a High Court judge of "torturing" a customer with repeated phone calls demanding he repay his credit card.

Keith Harrison had his debt of £20,270 written off by Judge Nicholas Chambers QC at Mold in North Wales, the BBC reports.

The judge also said MBNA had failed to give Mr Harrison the terms and conditions for the card when he took it out.

He added: "In my view, the claimant rightly complains that, mainly by MBNA but also by the defendant [debt collectors Link Financial], he was hounded by telephone calls seeking payment of what was said to be due.

"The calls were a form of torture oppressively frequent in amount and often without attribution to an identifiable number."

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