IMF backs down from UK criticism as forecast hiked January 21, 2014 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund (IMF) has flipped its position on the UK economy, confirming a large positive revision to its forecast for this year’s economic growth. Having criticised chancellor George Osborne for “playing with fire” only eight months ago, IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said yesterday that the recent recovery is sustainable, explaining the IMF’s [...]
UK bosses are most confident in the world January 21, 2014 BOSSES of British companies are the most confident in the world, with nine out of ten chief executives confident in their own company’s growth over the next 12 months. The high level of confidence extend to bosses’ views of the global economy, with six out of ten UK executives believing that the economy will improve [...]
Skill shortage of staff revealed January 21, 2014 SHORTAGES of skills are growing in some key sectors of the economy, despite the fact that unemployment is still much higher than before the recession. A report released this morning by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) find that difficulties in hiring are spreading from sectors like health and engineering into construction, hospitality and education. [...]
Phones 4 U ponders float January 21, 2014 HIGH street mobile phone retailer Phones 4 U could be considering a £1bn public float later this year as private equity owner BC Partners examines its options for the business. BC Partners has not yet appointed advisors for a potential float and people close to the firm said that discussions remain at a very early [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 22 January 2014 January 21, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Bicycle-Sharing firm in bankruptcy The Canadian company that runs the popular bike-sharing schemes in New York, London and Sydney has gone bankrupt, after two US cities withheld Ca$5.6m (£3m) in payments amid widespread software glitches. Yesterday Denis Coderre, mayor of the city Montreal, which owns the Public Bicycle-Sharing Company, said the business was [...]
Watchdog hits back over claims from Npower January 21, 2014 REGULATOR Ofgem today blasted Npower’s breakdown of energy bills, calling its data on network costs “incorrect and misleading”. The big six firm’s new report said that energy network distribution costs would rise by 22.7 per cent between 2013 and 2020, adding £58 on to the average annual duel-fuel bill. “Suppliers control less than 20 per [...]
Over a quarter of younger Brits are still living with their parents January 21, 2014 OVER a quarter of British adults between the ages of 20 and 34 were living with their parents last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Around 3.3m young people are living in their parental homes, a rise of 669,000 since 1996 even though the number of people in the age [...]
Lenders fear management firings if they fail stress tests January 21, 2014 BOSSES should not be fired by the Bank of England if banks or building societies perform poorly in the upcoming stress tests, industry groups said yesterday. The Bank of England is setting out plans for annual stress tests so regulators and markets can see lenders’ strengths. The Building Societies’ Association and the British Bankers’ Association both [...]
Verizon reports strong growth while IBM falls January 21, 2014 VERIZON reported strong fourth quarter growth in its Verizon Wireless joint venture yesterday while IBM, the world’s largest technology services company, reported its seventh straight quarterly decline as demand for its services continues to fall. Verizon’s shares fell 1.3 per cent yesterday to $47.7, which analysts attributed to profit taking ahead of its $130bn buyout [...]
UBS, the chairman’s daughter, and a row over bank connections January 21, 2014 SHE MAY only be a junior banker but Joyce Wei has caused quite a stir in the past few days in the Hong Kong capital markets. First, JP Morgan pulled away from advising on the flotation of a maker of specialty chemicals on finding that Wei had worked for the bank. Then it emerged she [...]