US medical device tax may face repeal in debt-ceiling negotiations September 30, 2013 The controversial medical device tax may face repeal in the heat of US debt-ceiling negotiations. Over the weekend Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill to keep the Federal government running past midnight on Monday by adding two amendments. The first was the delay to the implementation of Obamacare by a year, the [...]
Eurozone inflation falls with marked CPI decrease for Italy September 30, 2013 Inflation softens for the Eurozone as the consumer price index misses expectations of 1.2 per cent for September, coming in at 1.1 per cent, year-on-year. This is down from the previous figure of 1.3 per cent. The core figure, which excludes volatile components like food, energy, alcohol and tobacco, was at 1.0 per cent year-on-year; [...]
Italian political turmoil hits markets and overshadows reports of upturn September 30, 2013 Italian government bonds and shares have slumped this morning following Silvio Berlusconi's decision to take five ministers out of Enrico Letta's already fragile coalition at the weekend, and has left the Eurozone's third-largest economy without a functioning government. Berlusconi, who may be ejected from the senate because of tax fraud, ordered the five ministers to [...]
Goldman Sachs warns US government shutdown will hit growth September 30, 2013 Goldman Sachs has warned that a two day shutdown of the US Federal government could reduce fourth quarter GDP (annualised) by 0.1 percentage points, and that a shutdown as long as one week could see GDP take a 0.3 percentage point hit. Over the weekend Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a [...]
Mortgage numbers rise to February 2008 highs September 30, 2013 Mortgage numbers have swelled in the UK this August – hitting 66-month highs. They're up from 60,624 to 62,226 in a single month, above analyst estimates of a rise to 61,500. That's before the accelerated second stage of Help to Buy even kicks in. Yet at 62,226, mortgage approvals stand at 73.5 per cent of [...]
BP oil spill trial continues with question of how much oil was lost September 30, 2013 Oil giant BP is due today to begin the second phase of the civil trial over its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed 11 workers and blackened hundreds of miles of beaches. Today, the debate will be on how much oil was spilt. The US government will argue that, [...]
Cost of CO2 regulation provides auto suppliers with new opportunities September 30, 2013 Analysts at Macquarie Equities Research have concluded that the global trend of tougher regulation on carbon dioxide emissions is producing significant cost for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and consumers in the automotive sector, but is creating revenue opportunities for supplier industries. The EU has the strictest emissions standards, which has lead to European consumers seeing the highest [...]
Aldi sees a doubling of annual profits and a 40.6 per cent leap in sales September 30, 2013 Budget supermarket Aldo has announced a 40.6 per cent increase in sales last year, rising to £3.8bn, with profit doubling from £70.5m to £157.9m, moving away from the pack of other UK supermarkets in terms of growth. With a growing middle class clientele and one million extra customers coming through the doors of its 500 [...]
Astra Zeneca given new ovarian cancer drug go-ahead by regulator September 30, 2013 Biopharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca has had a marketing authorisation application accepted for a new ovarian cancer drug. The oral drug, Olaparib, kills cancer cells and has the potential to be used to treat a range of tumours. The granting of the application by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) means that it can be put on [...]
What you need to know before the open – 30/9 September 30, 2013 If you thought things might look a little less bumpy for the markets this week – not so. Today, they look set to be battered by US and Italian politics, with the FTSE expected to open sharply lower and Asian markets closing down on concerns. Opening calls #FTSE100 is expected to open 63 points lower [...]