‘Bond market tantrum risks’: Gilt traders brace for Labour leftward pivot as Starmer future uncertain
Berlusconi firm faces massive fine after losing court battle September 17, 2013 THE FAMILY holding company of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was ordered yesterday to pay €494m (£415m) in damages stemming from the purchase of publisher Mondadori. The final ruling by Italy’s top appeals court was a fresh blow to Berlusconi, 76, already reeling from a supreme court verdict which confirmed a four-year jail sentence [...]
Telecom Italia investors reject €800m Telefonica buyout offer September 17, 2013 ITALIAN shareholders in Telecom Italia this month rejected an €800m (£672m) offer from Spain’s Telefonica to buy part of their stakes, Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore said yesterday. Telefonica is the biggest shareholder in Telco, the holding that controls Telecom Italia with a 22.4 per cent stake. Telco also includes Italian banks Intesa [...]
Europe’s drivers steering clear of buying new cars September 17, 2013 EUROPEAN car sales fell 4.9 per cent last month, the Association of European Carmakers said yesterday, widening the gap between the booming British market and the slide on the continent. Registrations fell to 686,957 cars in August, a slow holiday month, as sales slid further in France, Italy and Germany, taking the European decline for [...]
Ireland’s central bank lays down tougher goals on mortgage debt September 17, 2013 IRELAND’S central bank and bailout lenders set the country’s lenders tougher targets yesterday to solve a mortgage arrears crisis that has left one in five of all Irish homeowners unable to repay their loans. Ireland took an €85bn bailout in 2010 after rescuing its banks, whose easy lending had fuelled a credit bubble, and the [...]
Costa Concordia hauled upright September 17, 2013 ENGINEERS off the Italian cost have successfully righted the stricken Costa Concordia in a tense two-day mission to haul the cruise liner off the rocks. The so-called parbuckling technique had never been tried on so large a ship in such a tricky position. Work has now started on reinforcing the hull so investigators can enter [...]
Merkel gets last minute boost in confidence data September 17, 2013 HOPES for strong German growth and a Eurozone recovery have surged on upbeat market confidence, according to data published yesterday. The figures come just days before the German general election on Sunday and provide another boost for incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel. The forward-looking Zew indicator of economic sentiment in Germany shot up 7.6 points to [...]
Eurozone exports drop as weak economy raises chance of easing September 17, 2013 HOPES for strong German growth and a Eurozone recovery have surged on upbeat market confidence, according to data published yesterday. The figures come just days before the German general election on Sunday and provide another boost for incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel. The forward-looking Zew indicator of economic sentiment in Germany shot up 7.6 points to [...]
Stable inflation fuels taper talk in the States September 17, 2013 INFLATION readings in the US barely rose in August, but gains in rents and medical care costs pointed to a stabilisation in underlying inflation that could allow the Federal Reserve to start trimming its bond purchases. The Labor Department said yesterday its consumer price index (CPI) edged up 0.1 per cent last month after rising [...]
Greece’s Prime Minister does not expect living standards to recover fully for another six years September 17, 2013 GREECE should return to economic growth in 2014, ending six years of recession, European Commission boss Jose Manuel Barroso predicted yesterday. But the country’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warned it will take another six years for living standards in the troubled Mediterranean country to return to pre-crash levels. He argues this is a more optimistic [...]
Mediobanca’s losses are lower than feared despite writedowns September 17, 2013 ITALIAN investment bank Mediobanca ended its financial year posting a net loss on the back of heavy writedowns on equity investments but the market yesterday welcomed moves to clean up its balance sheet. Mediobanca, which has for decades played a pivotal role in helping to forge Italian capitalism, announced in June a radical change of [...]