Businesses should be planning for the scenario of a Eurozone collapse June 14, 2012 WITH Greece going to the polls on Sunday, the Eurozone crisis continues to dominate. While we are in uncharted territory – there is no legal or jurisdictional framework that allows for a euro collapse, or exit from the currency by one or more countries – businesses can assume three scenarios to set plans against: a [...]
We are in a world without leaders: The G-Zero will soon replace the G7 May 13, 2012 WHEN so many problems bestride borders, the need for international cooperation has never been greater. Cooperation demands leadership, however. Only leaders have the leverage to coordinate multinational responses to transnational problems. They have the wealth and power to persuade other governments to take actions they wouldn’t otherwise take. They pick up the bills that others [...]
Consumer woes weigh on retail March 27, 2012 UK RETAIL sales are poor for the time of year and expected to get worse, according to an influential business survey published yesterday. An equal number of firms reported sales falling as rising in the first two weeks of March, leaving a net balance of zero growth, the Confederation of British Industry’s distributive trades survey [...]
House prices begin to stabilise after 22 months of falls March 12, 2012 REAL estate professionals have delivered the most upbeat forecast on house prices since May 2010, with predictions of a stable market in the next three months. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found those questioned were evenly split between expecting prices to go up and down, leaving a net balance of zero. The neutral [...]
US jobs figures fail to bring joy to markets May 7, 2012 AFTER another torrid week in the Eurozone, the last hope for some positive news to pick up market watchers’ spirits before a bank holiday weekend was US non-farm payroll (NFP) figures. But anybody hoping to go into the weekend on a bounce was disappointed. April non-farm payrolls came in at an anaemic 115k on Friday [...]
Deeper cuts will restore Britain’s fiscal credibility March 15, 2012 THIS week Fitch joined Moody’s in placing the UK’s AAA rating on negative outlook. This should send the clearest possible message to those calling for looser fiscal policy in next week’s budget. In truth, the chancellor should tighten policy, because his reputation for fiscal credibility is already at stake. Confronted by poor economic growth last [...]
Gloomy 3i reins in spending as Eurozone turmoil runs on January 26, 2012 THE GLOOM surrounding private equity deepened yesterday when 3i said earnings at some of its portfolio firms had been hit while asset sales and new investments had slowed. Britain’s oldest private equity firm said conditions had not improved since November, when it posted a slump in net asset value and chief executive Michael Queen chose [...]
RAPID responses April 15, 2012 Unbreakable bonds [Re: We need an open contest to decide who will run the Bank, Thursday] Allister Heath argues that the £300bn plus held by the Bank of England in government bonds should be cancelled to reduce the government’s debt and interest bill. Cancelling the bonds would undermine the credibility and independence of the Bank [...]
A wholesale improvement is the only way for UK banks to weather the Eurozone storm December 21, 2011 FOR the past fifteen months, the Bank of England (BoE) has been backpedalling. Instead of coasting, the UK economy has stalled. The government’s bold and sensible plans for budget deficit reduction are broadly on track for the next few months, but will not remain so unless the central bank shapes up to the challenge of [...]
MPC member says economy may contract November 24, 2011 CONTRACTION may be underway, the Bank of England’s Ben Broadbent warned as the Office for National Statistics revealed more information on the composition of the third quarter GDP figures yesterday. Growth was confirmed at 0.5 per cent in the last three-month period, as production industries increased output by 0.4 per cent and the services sector [...]