Fresh hopes over deal for Greek debt January 18, 2012 HOPES of a deal to avoid a disorderly Greek default grew yesterday, as participants in crunch talks suggested a compromise was nearing. Private holders of Greek government debt returned to the table in Athens, after discussions with Greek authorities broke down at the end of last week. One source close to the talks said logic [...]
Non, non, non: Britain may wield its veto over tax plan January 18, 2012 BRITAIN is prepared to use its veto to stop harmonised tax rates being introduced across the European Union. A Whitehall official told City A.M.: “We won’t agree to anything that surrenders control over tax policy.” It is understood that France and Germany are pushing the EU to speed up efforts to coordinate corporate tax rates [...]
Monti: there will be no return to EU treaty of 27 January 18, 2012 THERE is no prospect of going back to a European treaty signed by all 27 members of the union, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said yesterday during a visit to the London Stock Exchange (LSE). His view dashes the hopes of some Europhiles that Britain could extract enough concessions to reverse its veto of an [...]
McKinsey in warning on British debt January 18, 2012 THE UK may miss out on long term economic growth if it does not speed up the rate of debt reduction, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). Researchers compared the UK’s current deleveraging with historic debt reduction efforts and concluded Britain may face an extended period of restrained growth, similar to that [...]
Britons feel gloomy due to euro crisis January 18, 2012 CONSUMER confidence plumbed near-record lows in December, as rising unemployment and the Eurozone crisis took their toll on sentiment. Nationwide’s consumer confidence index hit 38 last month – well below its long-run average of 77 and barely above its lowest ever score of 36, seen in October 2011. Confidence remains 17 points below the level [...]
Carnival shares begin recovery as ship slips January 18, 2012 SHARES in Carnival, the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia, recovered another 3.2 per cent yesterday in the aftermath of Monday’s enormous 16.4 per cent decline. Italian rescuers have called off the search for survivors as the ship began to slip into the sea. More than 20 people are still missing after Friday night’s tragedy. [...]
RBS fined £2m by watchdog January 18, 2012 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a £2.17m fine to Direct Line and Churchill Insurance – both owned by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – after the firms tampered with files in an attempt to pass an inspection. The FSA asked to review fifty customer files in April 2010 as part of an investigation [...]
Joblessness up again with weak growth January 18, 2012 UNEMPLOYMENT in the UK increased again in the three months to November, according to data published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, leading economists to predict a gloomy 2012. Joblessness rose by 118,000 to 2.69m from September to November – the highest number since 1994. The rise takes the headline rate up to 8.4 [...]
Freeze on pay begins to hit public sector January 18, 2012 THE PAY freeze implemented in 2010 is beginning to have some effect on public sector pay, the Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday. Average weekly pay was 2.1 per cent higher in November 2011 than in the same month of 2010, standing at £464. Meanwhile consumer price inflation in the twelve-month period stood at 4.2 [...]
Marketing spend up even as sentiment takes a hit January 18, 2012 BUSINESS buoyancy has descended to a recent low as marketing executives admit financial prospects for their companies have deteriorated for the first time since early 2009, according to the IPA Bellwether report out today. Business optimism plunged 45 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, down from the 23 per cent dip seen in [...]