OECD: UK will escape double dip recession April 7, 2010 LABOUR will trumpet figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the campaign trail today which suggest Britain’s economy will skip away from a double-dip recession. In its interim report published yesterday, the OECD said GDP expanded at an annualised pace of two per cent in the first three months of the [...]
Greece teetering on the edge as bond yields keep on rising April 7, 2010 GREECE took another step towards the brink when it said its budget deficit would come in higher than expected, pushing Athens’ cost of borrowing to its highest level in a decade. The government said 2009’s funding shortfall would probably rise to 12.9 per cent of GDP, up from the 12.7 per cent briefed previously. Markets [...]
Monsanto changes track April 7, 2010 Monsanto, the world’s largest supplier of agricultural seeds, has scrapped its target of doubling profits within five years and will abandon its rule of keeping prices high. Chief executive Hugh Grant announced the backtrack as Monsanto revealed fiscal second quarter results below Wall Street expectations. Net profit fell from $1.1bn (£722m) to $887m year-on-year, with [...]
Geithner on yuan trip in Beijing April 7, 2010 US Treasury secretary Tim Geithner will meet China’s vice-premier, Wang Qishan today, in a session that will fuel hopes of an end to the nation’s pegging of its currency to the dollar. President Barack Obama is also due to meet with Hu Jintao, China’s premier, on Monday. US officials have long argued pegging the yuan to [...]
Bank of Ireland to cut deficit April 7, 2010 Bank of Ireland has come up with a plan to halve its €1.6bn (£1.4bn) pension deficit and boost earnings, it said yesterday. Ireland’s biggest bank by market value said last week it had swung to a loss in the nine months to December and that reversing a rise in its pension costs was a priority [...]
Top bosses hit out at Labour over jobs tax April 7, 2010 THERE was anger among business leaders yesterday, after the Prime Minister said they had been “deceived” into supporting Tory plans to scrap the hike in National Insurance. A further 30 business leaders added their name to a letter supporting the Conservative position on the “tax on jobs” yesterday, taking the total number of signatories to [...]
Tories set to emerge as the biggest party, says our panel April 7, 2010 THE TORIES will emerge as the biggest party after the next election, according to our panel of City workers. The City A.M./PHI Panel, which has been specially recruited with PoliticsHome.com to represent a cross-section of London’s financial and business community, was asked what the most likely outcome of the general election was. Half of the [...]
Digital Economy Bill gets tweaked in the wash up April 7, 2010 LABOUR was on track to squeeze its controversial Digital Economy Bill into law last night, but was forced to drop clauses on regional broadcasting and extending Ofcom’s powers. Crucially, the Conservative opposition backed proposals to cut off the internet connections of people found illegally sharing files as the bill was rushed through a third reading [...]
Goldman sets out defence of CDO trades April 7, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs yesterday mounted its most robust defence yet of the risks taken during the financial crisis, insisting that the bulk of its transactions were undertaken in response to the needs of its clients rather than to “bet against” them. In an eight-page letter to shareholders attached to its annual report, Goldman stressed its role [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE JOB MARKET IS PICKING UP? April 7, 2010 PAUL HAINES | RK HARRISON “No, I really don’t think that the market is picking up. I don’t see a lot of new people coming into the office for new positions. I also don’t think that this will change in the near future. It may stay like this for the next six months to a [...]