FTSE steadied by Greek breakthrough July 21, 2011 The FTSE 100 started solidly this morning as it emerged that France and Germany had reached an agreement on a second bailout for Greece. Banks led the way as investors gained confidence in stocks recently buffeted by fears of exposure to the debt crisis which has engulfed the Eurozone. Leaders of the 16-country bloc will [...]
Retail sales bounce back in June July 21, 2011 Retail sales bounced back only modestly in June from May’s steep slump, fuelling concerns over the recovery and highlighting the uphill struggle for the government as it aims erase a record budget deficit. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales volumes rose 0.7 per cent last month, recovering only half the previous month’s drop. [...]
Capita profit up as contracts roll in July 21, 2011 Outsourcing group Capita reported a seven per cent rise in first-half underlying profit, with the period boosted by major contract wins as demand returns in the public and private sector markets, the group said. Capita, which runs the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, TV licensing for the BBC and the Criminal Records Bureau in the UK, said [...]
RBS warns of tough bond markets July 21, 2011 The second-quarter earnings of Royal Bank of Scotland’s global banking and markets business will reflect the weakness in fixed-income markets due to debt woes in the euro zone, an executive said, warning bond markets will remain tough in the third quarter. The comments come a few days before RBS, 83 per cent owned by the [...]
France and Germany make deal on Greek bailout July 21, 2011 Germany and France have reached a common position on a second bailout of Greece in their effort to prevent the country’s debt crisis from spreading through Europe, officials said on Thursday. The accord came after seven hours of talks late into Wednesday night between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin, [...]
Economists cut their forecasts July 20, 2011 ECONOMISTS have slashed expectations for this year’s UK growth by half a per cent in recent months, as worries mount over sovereign debt crises on both sides of the pond. Forecasters now see the British economy expanding by just 1.3 per cent in 2011 – down from 1.8 per cent as recently as March, a [...]
More bonus curbs could be on way July 20, 2011 BRITISH firms could be subject to an even more restrictive bonus regime under the terms of a new EU directive published yesterday. The Capital Requirements Directive 4 (CRD IV), which is the EU’s version of Basel III, suggests that financial institutions could have to endure yet more interference in their remuneration practices following a tome [...]
Profits jump at BlackRock July 20, 2011 BLACKROCK, the world’s largest money manager by assets, busted expectations with a 43 per cent jump in quarterly profit yesterday, thanks to its rapidly growing list of fund styles and asset classes. The New York-based company has long been known as a fixed-income institutional manager, but chief executive Laurence Fink has pressed into new areas [...]
Public spending still over half of GDP July 20, 2011 ED Miliband should be happy: Britain officially remains a state-dominated economy. For all the talk of “swingeing” cuts, public spending is set to remain at 50.1 per cent of GDP in 2011, according to the latest OECD predictions. This is an astonishing figure: more than half the economy, which by one definition means that the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BLACKSTONE STRIKES €700M DEAL TO BUY GERMANY’S JACK WOLFSKIN Blackstone has agreed to take over outdoor clothing company Jack Wolfskin in a €700m ($995m) deal that underlined the rapid transformation of the sector from local businesses to international brands. The US buy-out group will announce on Thursday that it will acquire the German [...]