London business leaders fear double-dip recession March 26, 2010 LONDON’S business leaders have become more worried about the possibility of a double-dip recession since the budget. Almost seven out of 10 said they feared another “period of economic” decline was on the horizon, according to a poll by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. When the same question was asked in January the [...]
M&A activity rebounds after recession March 26, 2010 MERGERS and acquisitions jumped to $520.4 billion £350bn in the first quarter, new figures have revelealed. Data from Thomson Reuters data showed M&A jumped 18 per cent worldwide from the first quarter of 2009, when dealmaking was depressed by the credit crunch that followed the financial crisis. Compared with the last quarter of 2009, however, [...]
Times to charge for online content March 26, 2010 NEWS International will charge readers for online versions of its Times and Sunday Times from June, the company has announced. Access to two new websites for the titles will cost £1 per day or £2-a-week. Subscribers to the print versions will get free access to the sites. Both titles will launch new websites in May, [...]
Japan in deflation for a year March 26, 2010 JAPAN’S economy has been in deflation for 12 consecutive months, official figures have shown. Consumer prices fell by 1.2 per cent in February compared to a year earlier. Many analysts expected the Bank of Japan to ease monetary policy to get the debt-laden economy back on track. Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, [...]
Europe and IMF seal Greek deal March 25, 2010 EUROZONE leaders last night finally clinched a deal to secure Greece’s financial future with the IMF drafted in alongside the EU to provide emergency funds if the debt-stricken country needs it. The bailout plan, agreed at yesterday’s EU summit in Brussels after weeks of wrangling, means eurozone members will provide two thirds of the estimated [...]
City rates the Budget 3.8 out of 10 March 25, 2010 ALISTAIR Darling must try harder. That was the verdict of our panel of City and business professionals, who gave the chancellor’s Budget on Wednesday a score of 3.8 out of 10. The City A.M./PHI Panel, which has been specially recruited to represent London’s financial and business community, was asked to score some of the measures [...]
City hits out at new loan cop March 25, 2010 BANKS have slammed government plans for a credit adjudication service to force them to lend more money to businesses, describing the idea as “just another layer of bureaucracy”. Alistair Darling used Wednesday’s Budget to announce the creation of a watchdog which would be able to intervene when a company felt it had been unfairly refused [...]
Ageing population adds to UK’s woes March 25, 2010 OUR panel of City and business professionals’ verdict on the Budget makes grim reading for Alistair Darling: the average grade given was 3.8 out of 10, as we report on pages 1 and 19. Members of the City A.M./PHI panel, produced with PoliticsHome.com, rubbished Darling’s growth forecasts for 2011-12 and slammed his new 50p tax [...]
Tory lead back at four March 25, 2010 The Conservative lead has returned to a four-point margin, according to the latest YouGov/Sun Poll. The Tories gained one point to 37 points, Labour dropped one point to 33, while the Lib Dems increased one point to 18. This lead will come as a relief to the Conservatives who were yesterday seen to be struggling [...]
US plans securities sale March 25, 2010 The US central bank is a step further towards gradually selling some of its $1.25 trillion portfolio of mortgage securities. Ben Bernanke at a House hearing yesterday said: “I anticipate that at some point we will, in fact, have a gradual sales process.” Bernanke’s stand on the issue is important to millions of US homeowners [...]