Burberry’s Christopher Bailey receives sales boost ahead of pay package showdown July 10, 2014 Burberry's new chief executive Christopher Bailey, who is facing questions over his lucrative pay package, received a boost today as the luxury goods brand beat estimates to report strong sales growth of 12 per cent for the three months to June. Retail revenue rose nine per cent to £370m for its fiscal quarter to June, [...]
Euro central bank boss Mario Draghi rejects Renzi reforms for deficit rules July 9, 2014 EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi weighed in on the debate over Eurozone deficit reduction yesterday, slapping down Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s push for a more lenient approach. Speaking in London yesterday, Draghi stressed the importance of sticking to the currency bloc’s existing fiscal rules. Recently, Renzi and other European politicians had suggested [...]
UK vs ECB: Britain squares up to Eurozone in legal battle for City’s rights July 9, 2014 British lawyers accused the European Central Bank (ECB) of breaking the single market rules in a landmark case yesterday. By insisting euro-denominated payment transactions are cleared within the Eurozone, the ECB is breaking the law, the Treasury argued. The UK complained in 2011 but it has taken until now to reach the European Court of Justice [...]
Piketty’s populism is flawed: Capitalism doesn’t mean more inequality July 8, 2014 The financial crisis has undoubtedly created a demand in popular culture for works portraying capitalism in a bad light, such as the recent bestseller by Thomas Piketty – Capital in the 21st Century. Piketty’s writing has gathered increasing attention from economists, who show that his arguments do not bear scrutiny. The focus of Piketty’s work [...]
George Osborne tells India: The good days are coming July 7, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has hailed Narendra Modi’s new administration in India for working to attract investment into the country, telling an audience in Mumbai that “good days are coming”. In a speech in which he announced a number of new trade deals between the UK and India, the chancellor praised the close ties between the [...]
Germany’s Angela Merkel sends strong warning to US over spy claims July 7, 2014 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken for the first time about an alleged double agent in the German intelligence community, claiming if true it would be “a clear contradiction of what I consider to be trusting co-operation” with the US. Speaking during a trade visit to China, her seventh since taking office in 2005, Merkel [...]
Mark Carney cancels cricket but Bank of England isn’t short on cake July 7, 2014 Mark Carney may have caused a stir by banishing the traditional Bank of England summer cricket match this year, but by all accounts staff had a great day out, replete with face-painting, wheel-barrow races, the Wimbledon final on a big screen and a bake-off. The governor, described by one tweeter as a “very [...]
Mark Carney makes first key cut as Bank of England governor July 6, 2014 Mark Carney has made his first cut since he walked through the door at Threadneedle Street in July. Not to interest rates – although they remain at their historic lows of 0.5 per cent – but to one of a large selection of cakes at this year's Bank of England summer party. The Bank governor [...]
Boosting investment is “only way out” for Europe – ECB’s Coeure July 6, 2014 Governments must do more to aid the European recovery, by cutting sovereign debt and boosting the level of investment, says European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Benoit Coeure. Speaking in Aix-en-Provence, France, Coeure said that the current economic situation is very worrying, and that "the only way out is by investing". But this should [...]
IMF sees no “brutal slowdown” in China – Christine Lagarde July 6, 2014 China's economic expansion isn't set to stutter, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF managing director Christine Lagarde says that the fund sees "no brutal slowdown" and expects that China will achieve growth of seven to 7.5 per cent this year. Investors now see a possible slowdown in Chinese growth as a key risk, [...]