Fed’s Stein suggests tapering rule to add clarity to central bank decisions September 26, 2013 Federal Reserve board member Jeremy Stein has a nifty solution to the lack of clarity over the central bank's decisions to begin tapering. That's fedspeak for reducing the rate of expansion of the monetary base. He's proposed that asset purchases be scaled back by a fixed amount for each 10 basis point drop in the [...]
US home sales decline accelerates September 26, 2013 US pending home sales have fallen by 1.6 per cent in August, against estimates of a one per cent fall. That's a larger decline than we saw in the previous month – when pending home sales fell by 1.3 per cent.
ECB’s Mersch pushes for a single system and stricter rules for bank control September 26, 2013 ECB executive board member Yves Mersch has spoken this afternoon on new approaches to banking which tighten controls and strengthen supervision. Mersch started off by highlighting weak growth and high unemployment but notes than positives have started to emerge, with the Eurozone realising that collective stability requires deeper integration. Two elements are needed for genuine [...]
Activist investor Icahn to push Apple’s Cook on share buyback program September 26, 2013 Activist investor Carl Icahn and Apple CEO Tim Cook are expected to meet on Monday, according to reports from CNBC. Icahn is expected to push the tech boss on further acceleration of the company's share buyback programme. Icahn reportedly has a $2bn stake in Apple (although that doesn't put him in Apple's top 10 stockholders). [...]
Disappointing US data – Second quarter GDP not revised up September 26, 2013 Disappointing US data out this afternoon. Second quarter GDP has not been revised from 2.5 per cent to 2.6 per cent. That defies what analysts had been expecting. Remember, those are annualised figures (not quarterly) – so don't compare them against the UK's second quarter GDP growth of 0.7 per cent (confirmed in a second [...]
35,000 customers switch banks in first week of new scheme September 26, 2013 According to reports, around 35,000 Britons have moved their current accounts during the first week of a new industry switching scheme aimed at promoting greater competition in the banking sector. Last week the Payments Council announced the launch of the Current Account Switching Service, which involves 33 banks and building societies, including Halifax, Barclays, Bank [...]
H&M shares rise nearly seven per cent as profits surge September 26, 2013 Hennes & Mauritz have seen their shares rise by nearly seven per cent after the company saw net income grow to £428m during the three months ending August 31. Gross margins for the company have increased 58.8 per cent of sales as compared to the previous year 58.2 per cent. This recent success will come [...]
Brussels’ new budget vice for the Eurozone September 26, 2013 Speaking this morning, former European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said that Europe is halfway to recovery. His words come at the same time as unprecedented fiscal temerity from the European Commission as it announces its intention to tighten its grip on members' budgets. On employment, Trichet stressed that EU unemployment is absolutely unacceptable and [...]
EU regulation may delay lifesaving devices by five years September 26, 2013 The European Parliament's committee for environment health and food safety has voted for stricter regulation controlling the process of approving medical devices. The directive includes tougher conformity assessment bodies, a new system of labelling medical devices and a new body called the 'Assessment Committee for Medical Devices' to examine potentially high risk devices. The new [...]
Regulator fines Clydesdale for botched mortgages September 26, 2013 Clydesdale Bank has been fined £8.9 million for failing to treat its mortgage customers fairly. The Financial conduct Authority (FCA) issued the fine after customers were not informed clearly their rights following the bank's miscalculation of repayments on over 42,500 mortgages. In April 2009, Clydesdale discovered an error in its repayment calculation method for customers [...]