Japan counts cost of devastating tragedy March 13, 2011 ■ NIKKEI 225 FALLS 5.8 PER CENT IN EARLY TRADING ■ BOJ PUMPS £53BN INTO MONEY MARKETS JAPANESE markets were hammered this morning as traders scrabbled to offload exposure to the devastating Japanese earthquake. The Nikkei was down a staggering 5.8 per cent in early trading to 9,656.71, with stocks in firms including Nissan, Honda, [...]
Yet again, we are reminded of our extreme frailty March 13, 2011 HUMILITY is the only appropriate response in the face of the horrendous human tragedy, grief and destruction unleashed on Japan. We are fortunate to be living in Britain, a temperate country largely immune from the destruction regularly unleashed by natural forces on the rest of the world. With the death toll mounting towards ever-more horrific [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES ITALIAN BANKS GO FOR GOLD IN MOVE TO TRANSFORM CORE CAPITAL RATIOS Italian banks think they may have struck gold as they seek to add lustre to balance sheets ahead of the summer stress tests. The lenders, which are shareholders in the central bank, are lobbying for their stakes to be marked to [...]
Miliband to warn on inflation February 27, 2011 LABOUR leader Ed Miliband will today warn of a “cost of living crisis” for middle-earners, who he claims will be hit the hardest by looming inflation. Miliband will argue in a speech this morning that a mix of rising prices, spending cuts and benefit changes will make life difficult for middle-income families. In an effort [...]
Coalition right to help job-creators January 26, 2011 VINCE Cable is back – and seems determined to shake off his reputation as the anti-business secretary. He wants to encourage firms to take on more workers by making it easier for them to sack underperforming staff. The number of cases reaching employment tribunals will be cut by automatically lodging all cases with Acas, the [...]
Lacklustre earnings send Wall St lower January 20, 2011 US stocks fell yesteray as lacklustre tech and materials earnings failed to live up to heightened expectations, threatening to short-circuit a seven-week run. Declines were milder than on Wednesday, when a sharp drop pulled the market off two-year highs. Morgan Stanley posted stronger-than-expected revenue to help the banking sector rise modestly, and rose 4.6 per [...]
Price hike Britain January 18, 2011 Fears were growing last night that Britain faces an explosion in the cost of living, with spiralling inflation threatening to erode savings and squeeze households already facing higher taxes. The consumer price index (CPI) shot up in December at the fastest rate since the Office of National Statistics (ONS) began reporting it in 1996, the [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN FROM BOARD One of the last Royal Bank of Scotland directors to remain on the bank’s board from the days of Sir Fred goodwin is poised to step down from his role. Colin Buchan, 56, a former UBS investment banker who until recently was chairman of RBS’s remuneration [...]
How a tax hike increased the deficit January 12, 2011 SLOWLY but surely, the real cost of the return to the politics of envy is becoming clear. Figures out last night confirmed yet again that crippling tax hikes are driving people and economic activity away from Britain. Rather than raising extra tax receipts to plug Britain’s budget deficit, there is growing evidence that the raids [...]
Japan to buy a fifth of euro bonds at sale January 11, 2011 JAPAN says it will buy a fifth of the gilts on offer at a planned auction of region-wide Eurozone bonds (or “e-bonds”) later this month. The comments, made by finance minister Yoshihiko Noda, sparked a rally in the euro versus the yen, with traders speculating that Japan would have to load up on the single [...]