JUMPING OFF A SINKING SHIP June 2, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown’s plans for a cabinet reshuffle have been thrown into disarray with the resignation of five Labour MPs, including three ministers. Home secretary Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, the families minister and cabinet office minister Tom Watson all quit ahead of Brown’s shake-up, which is expected to follow likely heavy defeats for Labour [...]
Consumer confidence improving June 2, 2009 CONSUMER confidence in the UK enjoyed its biggest rise in almost two years during April, according to Nationwide. The UK’s largest mutual said its consumer confidence index rose eight points to reach 50 in April, with 26 per cent of survey respondents saying they expect the economic situation to be better in six months time. [...]
Macquarie in fund raising June 2, 2009 MACQUARIE Group has raised A$1.2bn (£593m) from shareholders, in another boost for the Australian investment bank, which has seen the price of its stock double in the past three months. The cash injection means Macquarie now holds $4.3bn more than the minimum capital requirement imposed by regulators. Its shares have risen from a 10-year-low of [...]
Money supply is starting to grow again June 2, 2009 FOR all the much-deserved carnage in Westminster yesterday, the economy is gradually recovering. This doesn’t mean we will enjoy a V-shaped bounce-back: growth, when it returns, will have to contend with massive fiscal tightening to tackle the exploding budget deficit; interest rates will also have to go up, dealing the convalescing housing market a second [...]
BP: no final salary scheme June 2, 2009 ENERGY giant BP is to close its final salary pension scheme to new employees from April next year, City A.M. can confirm. The cost of funding BP’s pension obligations has soared since last year, reaching $368m (£222m) in the first quarter of 2009, compared to $246m in the same period of 2008, as the return [...]
Ferdinand injury hands Cahill shock call June 2, 2009 UNCAPPED Bolton defender Gary Cahill yesterday received a surprise England call-up after Rio Ferdinand was ruled out of Saturday’s clash with Kazakhstan. Manchester United defender Ferdinand will miss the World Cup qualifier in Almaty with a calf injury but is in contention to return for the visit of Andorra on Wednesday. Cahill, 23, has impressed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 2, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESCARLSBERG SEEKS TO EXTEND REACH IN ASIACarlsberg, the Danish brewer, is planning further expansion in Asia to help reduce its substantial exposure to the volatile Russian beer market. “We do see Asia as being a place to expand and invest in,” Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen, chief executive, told the Financial Times in an interview. He [...]
BBVA offers staff five years off June 2, 2009 Spanish bank BBVA is offering staff up to five years off in a bid to cut costs.The bank hopes some of its 29,954 workers will agree to stay home for five years, while banking nearly a third of their usual salary. They would then have a guaranteed job to return to. Other alternatives are a [...]
West loses global dominance June 2, 2009 The Western world will generate less than half of global economic output this year, as China and other emerging nations grab a greater share amid the recession. The US, Canada and Europe will make up 49.4 per cent of the global economy this year, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) said.
Pearl gets 500m injection June 2, 2009 Life assurer Pearl Group has reached a deal to cut its £3bn debt mountain and receive a £500m capital injection from acquisitions firm Liberty. The firm could announce as early as today that it has entered a period of exclusivity which will see it take a 60 per cent stake in Pearl.
