Tea prices brewing a record September 1, 2009 Tea prices are set to climb 10-15 per cent higher next year because crop failures have depleted global supply. Consumers’ thirst for tea has not dwindled with the global recession.
Knight: Pay row must end September 1, 2009 ANGELA Knight, the chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, yesterday called for an end to the public debate on remuneration and slammed a suggestion from Prime Minister Gordon Brown that pay could be capped as a percentage of profit. Knight told City A.M. that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and No. 10 Downing Street [...]
Walker Review will damage City recruitment, says expert September 1, 2009 GOVERNMENT proposals for a massive overhaul of banking industry rules threaten to severely undermine the ability of human resources (HR) executives to do their job, an expert on regulation warned yesterday. Chris Pilling, head of Complinet – which advises around 80 per cent of FTSE 100 firms on regulation – has warned the recent Walker [...]
French government to push for overall limit on bonuses at G20 September 1, 2009 THE FRENCH government will later this week urge the Group of 20 (G20) leaders to consider strict curbs on banking bonuses, including a mandatory limit, ahead of their summit later in the month. French finance minister Christine Lagarde will outline Paris’s proposals this Friday, when she meets with fellow G20 finance ministers in London. The [...]
LOCKERBIE ROW RUMBLES?ON September 1, 2009 LETTERS between the UK and Scottish governments suggest that Britain did not press for the release of dying Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi to win oil-related business deals. The documents show that improved ties with Libya – including a prisoner transfer agreement – were key for Britain, but that it made it clear that decisions [...]
Fall in factory output puts upturn at risk September 1, 2009 BRITAIN’S manufacturing recovery yesterday demonstrated its fragility as a key survey showed that UK factory activity unexpectedly shrank in August, with growth in new orders slowing and employers cutting jobs and inventories. The CIPS/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped back to 49.7 and below the critical 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. Analysts [...]
Lending falls at record pace but mortgage approvals rise September 1, 2009 NET lending to individuals and companies fell over July at its sharpest pace since records began in 1993, threatening the strength of the UK’s economic recovery. The weak data came despite a rise in mortgage approvals and positive signs from quantitative easing. Data from the Bank of England yesterday showed that lending to non-financial companies [...]
Eurozone unemployment rate at its highest level in over a decade September 1, 2009 EUROZONE unemployment rose in July to its highest in more than 10 years, official data showed yesterday, but the number of jobless Germans dropped by 1,000 on seasonally-adjusted terms. For the Eurozone as whole, the unemployment rate hit 9.5 per cent, the highest monthly rate since May 1999. In July 2008, the jobless rate was [...]
Bank of America inches towards independence September 1, 2009 BANK of America (BoA) is understood to be edging closer to freeing itself of government restrictions on pay by returning some of the $45bn (£28bn) in bailout money it received from the state last year. The bank, which was forced to take state aid despite insisting that it did not need to do so, is [...]
Why I’m fighting against Europe’s hedgie directive September 1, 2009 THERE ARE many good reasons for catching an early Eurostar to the continent, and particularly to Brussels. A stroll through the magnificent Grand Place followed by a plate of delicious moules et frites remain two of my fondest memories of my time spent as the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent some years ago. But my aim [...]