US durable goods crash February 27, 2013 Falling beyond an expected 4.8 per cent decline, US durable goods orders have plunged by 5.2 per cent in January from a 4.6 per cent rise in December. Lower defence and aircraft numbers were responsible for the reduction. Defence capital spending fell by 69.5 per cent, the most since July 2000. Durable goods ex-transport rose 1.9 [...]
Italy’s joker won’t help any politician February 27, 2013 Third placed in the Italian elections, Beppe Grillo has just snubbed Pier Bersani of the centre-left coalition by ruling out a coalition or a vote of confidence for Bersani. Grillo has said that his movement will not vote in favour of any politician. It is unclear as to whether this would mean that Grillo might [...]
Barclays bonuses cut by £450m February 27, 2013 Sky News reports that Barclays will be reducing its staff bonus pool by £450m. This comes as a result of the Libor-rigging scandal, and is in excess of the £291m fines imposed by US and UK regulators. Barclays will still award £1.8bn in bonuses to staff. This has not yet been confirmed by Barclays. The [...]
From teen movie star to high art to Disney prince: the mad world of James Franco February 27, 2013 NORMAL PEOPLE don’t have “projects”. Normal people have jobs, social lives and hobbies; things they do for a living and things they do for fun. Projects fill the twilight of illustrious careers – they’re what successful people do when they’re bored with success. James Franco is famous for his projects. Since his career took off [...]
Aer Lingus deal blocked by EU February 27, 2013 The European Commission has blocked Ryanair's £600m deal to acquire Aer Lingus citing competition concerns. "The Commission's decision protects more than 11 million Irish and European passengers who travel each year to and from Dublin, Cork, Knock and Shannon. For them, the acquisition of Aer Lingus by Ryanair would have most likely led to [...]
Did the UK’s double-dip happen? February 27, 2013 Sky's Ed Conway has looked more closely at the ONS' re-estimate of GDP for the first quarter of 2012. The present estimate shows a contraction of only -0.083 per cent. Ed notes that re-estimates are common practice: The ONS continuously updates its estimates of economic growth in previous years as new, more comprehensive data flows in. [...]
Slaughter and May to advise Esure IPO February 27, 2013 Slaughter and May is advising esure Group plc ('esure') on its intention to proceed with an initial public offering of its ordinary shares, as announced on 27 February 2013. The law firm is based in London and is a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading law firms. Our reporter Cathy Adams: Insurer Esure [...]
Big banks could be forced to hold more capital February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority chairman, Lord Adair Turner, is currently before the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. Our banking reporter Tim Wallace is following proceedings: Turner: Big banks could be forced to hold extra capital against mortgage lending because their internal models give them too easy a ride — Tim Wallace (@Tim_Wallace) February 27, 2013 [...]
Arresting development over insider dealing February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority has reported that three men, 33, 37 and 39, are in custody awaiting questioning. The men have been arrested on suspicion of insider dealing and market abuse following dawn raids on their homes and offices in London this morning. (Release). Reuters reports that the FSA is currently prosecuting six others for insider dealing. It [...]
Baby on Board? February 27, 2013 Frustrated by the lack of power that the boards of Russian state-owned companies have, banking and media mogul Alexander Lebedev has recommended his own son for the board of Aeroflot. The news was released by the airline's press team. His son is 15-months old. Lebedev Tweeted: Мораль сей шутки такова:в советах госкомпании практически нет реальных полномочий-зачем [...]