Poor Spanish unemployment data an embarrassment for prime minister Rajoy August 2, 2013 Spanish unemployment has fallen by just 64,900 in July, falling short of analyst forecasts of an 80,000 drop. Last month unemployment fell by 127,200. This could be embarassing for prime minister Mariano Rajoy, who yesterday said he expected a big improvement in unemployment data.
Former RBS chief executive gives blessing to successor Ross McEwan August 2, 2013 The Royal Bank of Scotland has formally announced the appointment of Ross McEwan to the position of chief executive alongside its half yearly results including a pre-tax profit of £1.4bn (full results). McEwan, head of RBS’s retail arm, will begin working from 1 October 2013. Chairman Philip Hampton said he has already become a “champion” [...]
Before the open – 02/08 August 2, 2013 Asian shares crept up further last night on the back of strong factory data from the US and the news that major central banks would be keeping monetary stimulus in place. US stocks jumped to record highs yesterday after manufacturing PMI, as measured by Markit and the Institute for Supply Management both beat expectations (rising [...]
The increase in UK house prices is accelerating August 2, 2013 UK house prices rose at their fastest pace in three years in July, with the average house price increasing by 3.9 per cent compared to the same month in 2012, according to data from Nationwide. Analysts had expected an increase of 3.1 per cent, following 1.9 per cent growth in June 2013. Month-on-month, house prices [...]
New RBS chief executive to be paid significantly less than predecessor August 1, 2013 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is on the verge of agreeing a pay deal for its new chief executive that will be significantly lower than that of the ousted Stephen Hester, Sky News have reported. UK Financial Investments, the agency managing the taxpayer stake in RBS, is reportedly on the verge of agreeing a base [...]
SOCA chair voluntarily resigns after failing to declare potential conflict of interest August 1, 2013 Sir Ian Andrews has announced he is resigning from his position as chair of the Serious Organised Crime Agency after failing to declare a potential conflict of interests. In a letter to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee Keith Vaz, Andrews apologised for what he said was both a “genuine and unintentional oversight” [...]
S&P 500 breaks through 1,700 for first time – but is that level important? August 1, 2013 US markets continue to break records, with the S&P 500 breaking the psychologically significant 1,700 level for the first time. Not that 1,700 is any more inherent significance than 1,699, but as traders attach importance to it, that makes it important. Classic example of the self-fufilling prophecy and our obsession with base 10 numbers. Some [...]
ECB president boasts about success of OMT, although concedes governments did help a bit August 1, 2013 ECB president Mario Draghi has said that now is “potentially” the first time the “significant improvement in confidence and interest rates are finding their way through to the economy” after cautioning in November that he was not satisfied with financing conditions. He credits the reduction in risk with the success of the outright monetary transactions [...]
O2 takes on EE with 4G rollout August 1, 2013 O2 will rollout its 4G network in the UK from the 29 August, initially offering the service to new and existing customers in London, Leeds and Bradford. The mobile operator will be the first to go head to head with rival EE, which was given permission to use its existing network to offer 4G services [...]
Draghi fails to define “extended period of time” and takes dig at markets August 1, 2013 ECB president Mario Draghi has said there is no exact deadline for “extended period of time” when describing the central bank’s forward guidance policy beyond an assessment of the "medium term" inflation outlook. When asked if the council discussed tying forward guidance to thresholds or triggers, he answered indirectly to the negative, replying that there [...]