Gold seen hitting $2,000 on euro panic and US inflation April 11, 2012 PANIC over the ongoing Eurozone crisis could push gold over the $2,000 mark in the next year, a leading metals consultancy warned yesterday. Investors worried about investing in equities or bonds, or concerned about rising inflation, may put cash into assets like gold and silver to keep their money safe. After rising for four days [...]
Baroin: France must hit target or risk a crisis April 11, 2012 SCALING back plans to balance France’s budget by 2016 would risk a market backlash, its finance minister said yesterday, taking aim at the opposition Socialists’ economic programme as a presidential election nears. Unveiling multi-year spending forecasts, President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative government confirmed it aimed to cut the public deficit to an EU-imposed limit of three [...]
Euribor hits a 21-month low as ECB’s cash floods the markets April 11, 2012 KEY Eurozone bank-to-bank lending rates hit new 21-month lows yesterday, dragged down by the enormous volume of cash the European Central Bank (ECB) has pumped into financial markets since late last year. The three-month euro interbank offered rate (Euribor), an estimate of lenders’ borrowing costs, dropped by six basis points to 0.7 per cent – [...]
GREEKS TO GO TO THE POLLS NEXT MONTH April 11, 2012 GREECE will call a snap election for the 6 May, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said yesterday as he formally resigned from his role. A new government is set to be in place by 17 May, with hopes for a smooth handover to allow the country’s international bailout plan that staved off bankruptcy to continue.
IMF warns UK pension costs set to double April 11, 2012 THE UK faces a pensions time bomb, with expected increases in life expectancy set to put huge pressure on retirement costs, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF warned that the ballooning expense, which could double in the next forty years, could threaten the UK’s financial stability. Between 2010 and 2050, the cost [...]
A Spice Girls revival is more likely than a Nokia one April 11, 2012 CAST your mind back to 1997. Tony Blair’s New Labour had won a landslide election, Britannia was cool and Channel 5 was going to save the television industry. For some, it is a Spice Girls song that best evokes the era or, for those with better taste, a Radiohead tune. For me, it has to [...]
Ken sheds tear at launch of his full manifesto April 11, 2012 LABOUR’s Ken Livingstone shed a tear yesterday at the launch of his full manifesto to be Mayor of London, later describing how the “awesome responsibility” of ensuring that he wins on 3 May was affecting him. Livingstone became visibly emotional while watching an election broadcast of his supporters declaring “Come on Ken, London needs you!” [...]
Candidates clash over tax, trust and rickshaws at mayoral debate April 11, 2012 KEN Livingstone could not escape the debate over his tax affairs as income arrangements dominated the agenda at last night’s mayoral hustings. A rowdy Westminster audience gave the biggest cheer of the night to an attack on the Labour candidate’s choice to pay himself through a private company. “The law allows you to do that. [...]
Livingstone’s tax savings estimated at £75k over three years April 11, 2012 MAYORAL candidate Ken Livingstone saved over £75,000 in tax by channelling some of his earnings through a company, according to new research. The figures, prepared for Taxation magazine by TolleyGuidance, suggest that by channelling some of his earnings through a private firm Livingstone paid £77,790 less tax during the three years to June 2011 compared [...]
Johnson says no money for rival’s pledge April 11, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday attacked Ken Livingstone for making “unfunded” promises on the campaign trail, claiming that the Labour candidate has failed to identify funding for at least £2.7bn worth of pledges. In a document entitled “Can’t Afford Ken”, Johnson’s team claim to have identified 24 spending commitments made by Livingstone that go beyond the existing [...]