ECONOMIST VIEWS: HOW SOON WILL THE BANK OF ENGLAND BE ABLE TO NORMALISE MONETARY POLICY? September 5, 2010 PETER DIXON | COMMERZBANK “The tightness of the fiscal stance planned for 2011 suggests the Bank cannot afford to ignore it when setting rates. Global conditions are likely to remain difficult, with consequences for the UK. We think the Bank will be forced to follow the trend by holding rates to the end of next [...]
How AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes shrugged off the global recession September 5, 2010 IF Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of pioneering low-cost carrier AirAsia, ever suffered from shyness as child, he is certainly cured of it now. The UK-educated Malaysian entrepreneur, who founded the short haul airline in 2001 and its longhaul sister AirAsia X six years later, dominates the meeting room of his West End PR agency [...]
BANK BOSS DIMON HIT BY HOUSE PRICE WOES September 5, 2010 LIFE sucks if you’re the boss of one of the world’s largest banks in the wake of the crisis – not only are you required to defend your dwindling pay package and parry stinging verbal attacks from politicians on an almost daily basis, but you’re also cursed with ill luck in the real estate arena. [...]
US unemployment rises – but less than expected September 3, 2010 The US economy shed another 54,000 jobs in August, the third month in a row that jobs have been lost, official figures have shown. But the private sector created 67,000 jobs – more than analysts had been expecting – according to the Labour Department. That meant that overrall the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 per [...]
Eurozone retail sales rise September 3, 2010 Eurozone retail sales increased for a third successive month in July, offering more signs that consumers are opening their wallets and boosting the chances of the economic recovery continuing. Sales across the 16-nation currency bloc edged up 0.1 per cent from June and rose by a faster-than-expected 1.1 per cent year-on-year, the European Union statistical [...]
Service sector activity in new slump September 3, 2010 Service sector activity grew last month at its slowest pace since April 2009, with a marked fall in hiring as employers worried about an economic slowdown and public spending cuts, a survey showed. The headline Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index dropped to 51.3 in August from July’s 53.1, a much sharper fall than the decline [...]
John Lewis shrugs off double-dip fears September 3, 2010 Customers of John Lewis are showing few signs of reining in spending in the face of prospective tax rises and employment uncertainty with the firm posting another week of double digit sales growth. The employee-owned company, traditionally seen as a bellwether of the retail sector but which has outperformed competitors for over a year, said [...]
Fyffes sees profit slump after banana glut September 3, 2010 TROPICAL fruits supplier Fyffes saw profit dive by 28 per cent – triggered by an excess of bananas in the market and rising costs. The Dublin-based company said higher fuel costs and a stronger US dollar made for “difficult” conditions, leaving it with a profit of 13.3m euros (£11.1m) in the six months to June. [...]
BP oil spill bill hits £5.2bn September 3, 2010 BP has said that it has so far clocked up a £5.2bn bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. An estimated 265,000 barrels of oil have been collected from the water, the company said. Meanwhile 28,400 personnel, more than 4,050 vessels, and dozens of aircraft are still working on the spill clean-up. The [...]
Chinese approach pension fund over Potash bid September 3, 2010 Chinese investors have approached a Canadian pension fund about a possible rival bid for the fertiliser giant Potash Corporation. Alberta Investment Management said it was not interested in a rival bid and did not name the investors involved. But the approach provides further evidence that the Chinese are trying to derail a $40bn (£25.8bn) hostile [...]