Osborne says austerity is only option August 17, 2010 GEORGE Osborne yesterday said he would not shy away from ambitious plans to slash public spending, insisting the economy would fall into a tailspin unless Britain’s yawning deficit is dealt with. The chancellor was attempting to take on critics – both in the Labour party and in the coalition government – who say the austerity [...]
Accounting rules set for shake-up August 17, 2010 CHANGES to lease accounting rules are set to increase debt loads on company balance sheets by billions of pounds if regulators get the go-ahead for new measures. The overhaul to how rented assets appear on balance sheets is intended to improve transparency, according to a joint proposal by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)?and US [...]
Bramson to meet F&C following surprise £16m share purchase August 17, 2010 ACTIVIST investor Edward Bramson is expected to meet with F&C Asset Management next week after taking a £15.6m stake in the company. Shares in F&C soared 22 per cent to 63p after Bramson’s Sherborne vehicle bought 5.2 per cent of the fund manager’s share capital. Bramson raised £105m for Sherborne in March with a mandate [...]
Surge in food prices keeps inflation high August 17, 2010 RISING food prices offset a drop in the cost of fuel in July but annual inflation remained stubbornly above 3 per cent in July. The strong inflation figures forced Bank of England governor Mervyn King to pen his second letter of explanation to chancellor George Osborne and to admit that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) [...]
German investors downbeat August 17, 2010 GERMAN investor morale fell in August to its lowest level since April 2009, pointing to a slowdown in Europe’s largest economy but no risk of it or the broader Eurozone falling back into recession. The ZEW think tank said yesterday that its monthly poll of economic sentiment fell to 14 from 21.2 in July, declining [...]
Japan’s government mulls further policy stimulus August 17, 2010 JAPAN’S government will consider further stimulus steps, potentially making it the first developed country to turn to additional fiscal spending since the global crisis, as a strengthening yen threatens its faltering recovery. But the additional stimulus is expected to be relatively modest and is likely to involve reallocating funds rather than new spending. The government [...]
Gartmore hit by departure of star trader August 17, 2010 GARTMORE’S chief executive yesterday insisted that his firm has put the sticky matter of star manager Guillaume Rambourg’s suspension and subsequent resignation behind it, despite suffering heavy outflows of investor cash over the first half of the year. Gartmore saw its assets under management dip by 10 per cent to £19.9bn over the six months [...]
RBS sells loans worth €1.4bn August 17, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland yesterday announced it has sold around 10 per cent of its leveraged loan book as it continues its asset sale in the wake of its government bailout. The group announced it has sold a portfolio of loans worth €1.4bn (£1.15bn) to Intermediate Capital Group (ICG). The bank did not release the [...]
S&P takes Pru off credit watch after strong results August 17, 2010 RATING agency Standard & Poor’s has rewarded Prudential for its forecast-beating results and better-than-expected costs on the failed AIA deal by removing it from “credit watch”. S&P put the insurance giant on notice in March due to concerns over the balance sheet strains involved in its $35.5bn (£22.8bn) pursuit of AIG’s Far Eastern arm. Yesterday [...]
Barclays could face prosecution after judge derides £190m settlement offer August 17, 2010 BARCLAYS is nervously awaiting the outcome of a legal case in the US today that could leave the banking group facing criminal charges over payments linked to countries barred from trading with the States. A federal judge, who will decide whether to accept Barclays’ $298m (£190m) offer to settle the case, called the bank’s agreement [...]