What you need to know before the open – 31/10 October 31, 2013 The Fed's decision last night to stick with its current stimulus level wasn't a big surprise, given the probable damage caused by shutdown. US markets were dragged down, however, on the absence of discussion on shutdown, tight credit conditions and high interest rates. Asian markets were cooled by the news, too, with Seoul shares edging [...]
Royal Dutch Shell profit drop weakens FTSE October 31, 2013 Royal Dutch Shell has announced this morning that its third quarter profits were down 32 per cent to $4.2bn (£2.62bn), compared with $6.2bn (£3.86bn) for the same period in 2012. (Release) The oil and gas giant has blamed weaker industry refining conditions, a rise in operating and explorations costs and a challenging environment in Nigeria [...]
Facebook posts record profits October 30, 2013 FACEBOOK beat all expectations last night with the revelation that its mobile advertising, a revenue stream that barely existed a year ago, has seen massive growth. Mobile revenues for the social giant have surged more than 500 per cent in the past year, hitting $988m (£617m) in the third quarter, from just $150m when Facebook [...]
Press regulator given approval by the Queen October 30, 2013 THE QUEEN last night approved a royal charter that paves the way for state oversight of the media, in a move that risks ending centuries of press freedom. All three leading political parties backed the regulatory framework, which was given the go-ahead by a meeting of the privy council at Buckingham Palace. The charter sets [...]
Fed sticks with stimulus level as US deficit eases October 30, 2013 THE US Federal Reserve revealed a relatively bearish outlook over the country’s economy last night as it confirmed that it would stick to its massive $85bn (£53bn) a month stimulus programme. Yet there was some rosier news in a separate data release by the US Treasury department, which said that the state’s deficit has been [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 31 October 2013 October 30, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES UK star rainmakers team up Three of London’s star dealmakers are joining forces in a City advisory boutique, reflecting the exodus of senior talent from bulge-bracket investment banks amid intense political and regulatory scrutiny. Simon Warshaw, former co-head of investment banking at UBS, will this week team up with Robertson Robey Associates, said [...]
Growing energy costs revealed by official data October 30, 2013 THE POLITICAL row over energy prices was fuelled further yesterday by official data that showed British households are spending a larger share of their disposable incomes on the same amount of gas and electricity, due to recent price hikes. “Between 2003 and 2013, the proportion of households’ disposable income spent on gas and electricity has [...]
Cameron in tax clarity pledge October 30, 2013 British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to announce today that he will make public a new database of company ownership details designed to expose international money laundering and tax evasion schemes. The plan advances Cameron’s efforts to push money laundering and tax evasion to the top of the global agenda, and follows up on [...]
White takes new Treasury role October 30, 2013 The Treasury has promoted Sharon White to second permanent secretary for finance, the first time a woman has held the role. White, who has worked as a civil servant for 25 years and spent time at the World Bank, is married to Robert Chote, who heads the Office for Budget Responsibility. George Osborne, the chancellor, [...]
Consumer confidence slides October 30, 2013 Consumer confidence in the UK dipped for the first time this year in October, according to a widely-regarded index published this morning. The measure, conducted by research group GfK, slipped from minus 10 to minus 11 – having improved from minus 27 back in April. “We are still higher than at any time since December [...]