FTSE steady as investors eye Eurozone crisis summit October 21, 2011 Banks and miners helped to give the FTSE 100 a lift in early trading as investors looked to a key weekend in the Eurozone for signs that the bloc’s debt crisis could be brought under control. Leaders are still sharply divided over how to strengthen a Eurozone rescue fund and meet on Sunday to once [...]
Enterprise zones ’embarrassing’ expert says October 21, 2011 Planning experts have branded the government’s new enterprise zones plan “embarrassing” saying they would not attract heavyweight investors. They called for more incentives for developers to revamp areas hit by the UK’s economic woes. Newham Council planning chief Clive Dutton told a British Property Foundation debate that foreign investors were being left unimpressed by the [...]
Public borrowing falls in September October 21, 2011 Public sector net borrowing was slightly lower than expected in September, at £14.138bn, down from £15.411bn in the same month in 2010. The ONS said that solid growth in tax receipts and flat government spending were the cause. So far this year government borrowing has reached £63.518bn, compared to £71.005bn at the same point last [...]
S&P in new threat to downgrade France October 21, 2011 Standard & Poor’s will likely lower the credit standing of five European nations, including top-rated France, by one or two notches if the region slips into recession and government borrowings increase, the rating agency said in a report. The stress-test report assesses the capacity of the European Union and the IMF to support the euro [...]
Provident Financial upbeat on full year October 21, 2011 Sub-prime lender Provident Financial said it expected a good set of annual results, helped by growth at its Vanquis Bank and Consumer Credit divisions. Provident Financial, which lends to people who cannot get credit from mainstream banks, added that it had a strong funding and liquidity position. “I am pleased to report that the credit [...]
DEATH OF A TYRANT October 20, 2011 Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s lifeless body was dragged through the streets of his hometown last night as rebels celebrated the death of the man who held Libya in his iron grasp for 42 years. The dictator was killed during a bloody raid on the north-west town of Sirte. It is understood he was attempting to flee [...]
Mandarins and banks talk growth October 20, 2011 SENIOR Treasury mandarins are locked in talks with banks in a desperate bid to boost lending, and have discussed relaxing the UK’s ultra-strict regulations to help stimulate growth, City A.M. can reveal. Three banking sources have told City A.M. that senior Treasury (HMT) officials are “sympathetic” to their ideas, but could be put off pursuing [...]
Earnings rise at Microsoft October 20, 2011 MICROSOFT matched market expectations for its first-quarter earnings yesterday, turning a solid performance despite weakness in the PC market that hit sales of its flagship Windows software. The software giant’s strong foothold in the business market helped insulate it from the slowdown in consumer spending, and it said it had set a new record for [...]
Politicians fiddle while Rome burns October 20, 2011 SO Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agree – there is a problem in the Eurozone, apparently, and something needs to be done about it. But as to what that should be, forget it. With this weekend’s get-together bound to fail, the EU’s so-called leaders may call yet another summit on Wednesday. The situation would be [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES KKR BETS ON CHINA SLOWDOWN WITH HK EXPANSION Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is set to expand into Hong Kong in an early bet by the US private equity group on a slowdown in the Chinese economy. The buy-out group, which is among the largest in the world, is planning to expand into Hong Kong [...]