Abe commits Japan to loosen controls on migrant workers January 20, 2014 THE JAPANESE government has announced intentions to make employment in the country easier for migrant workers, as part of the much-anticipated reforms to the country’s economy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ministers will reveal detail of the government proposals by the middle of the year, as part of a commitment to improvements by the [...]
Hyperion Insurance Group grows January 20, 2014 Insurance group Hyperion has published its annual results, which show strong growth. The company has seen a compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent over the past five years. A number of acquisitions have bolstered figures. Commenting on the results, chief executive David Howden said: “2013 has been another record-breaking year, as well as [...]
China gold imports to dip in 2014 January 20, 2014 Chinese gold imports look set to fall from last year’s record levels, analysts warned yesterday, despite the precious metal’s declining price. “I think that perhaps a figure of 10 to 15 per cent down year-on-year is probably about right for Chinese imports of gold. There is a good level of stock there that can be [...]
Fitch upgrades Virgin Money January 20, 2014 Challenger bank Virgin Money is getting stronger as its core markets like mortgages grow, credit ratings agency Fitch said yesterday. It upgraded the lender’s credit rating from triple-B to triple-B plus. Virgin’s foundation on the best Northern Rock mortgages is a good basis for growth, the agency said, and its new lending since then has [...]
InBev buys back Korean brewery in $5.8bn deal January 20, 2014 ANHEUSER-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, has agreed to buy back South Korea’s Oriental Brewery Company (OB) for $5.8bn (£3.53bn) from KKR & Co and Affinity Equity Partners in what is the biggest ever exit by a private equity firm in Asia. Yesterday’s deal more than triples the original $1.8bn investment by the firms that [...]
Bottom Line: Sometimes bigger banks really are better January 20, 2014 THE WORLD’S biggest banks have been criticised as too big to fail, endangering the global financial system and drowning out vital competition from smaller, more nimble lenders. But this month the titans of the sector are showing their strength and proving that bigger sometimes is better. Fixed income revenues are down at most of the [...]
World’s youth are hardest hit as 200m jobless January 20, 2014 THE GLOBAL economy is not improving quickly enough to keep up with a growing labour force, with worldwide unemployment pushing to more than 200m people in 2013. This year’s employment trends report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), released yesterday, reveals concerns that the damage to the world’s labour market since the financial crisis is [...]
Knight Frank gives backing to Henderson’s Smithfield Quarter January 20, 2014 PROPERTY consultants Knight Frank have slammed the conservation group SAVE’s alternative proposal for Smithfield market as “economically unviable” ahead of the public inquiry into the future of the landmark site. Its owner Henderson wants to turn the 150-year-old General Market – which has lain derelict for over twenty years – and the adjacent Fish Market [...]
Theft spree left retailers £511m short last year January 20, 2014 UK RETAILERS faced a rising tide of crime last year as the number of thefts hit its highest level in nine years. Meanwhile the average value of loss soared 62 per cent to £177 for each incident. The British Retail Consortium, which conducts an annual retail crime survey, said retailers now invest an average of [...]
Online dating tips from the world of economics January 20, 2014 HAVE you ever turned to the neoclassical synthesis or the efficient markets hypothesis to help you to find love? We’d wager not, but having spent some time on Match.com, Stanford professor Paul Oyer has written a book: Everything I Ever Needed To Know About Economics I Learned From Online Dating. Whether you believe Keynesianism can [...]