Merkel and Hollande to offer Greece little comfort August 23, 2012 Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are expected to tell Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras this week that they can give him little leeway on easing the terms of his country’s bailout agreement. The French and German leaders meet today to fine-tune their joint message to Samaras, who is on a charm offensive seeking more time [...]
Rio Tinto says long-term commodities outlook unchanged August 23, 2012 The positive long-term outlook for global commodity prices is unchanged, global miner Rio Tinto’s chief executive said today, shortly after Australia’s resources minister called the peak of the country’s resources boom. A slowdown in Chinese demand for the commodities that have driven the boom, particularly coal and iron ore, has pressured prices and forced miners [...]
German GDP slows in second quarter August 23, 2012 Germany economic growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in the second quarter on a sharp drop in investment, adding to evidence that Europe’s largest economy can no longer be relied on to pull the Eurozone out of a deep slump. The German Statistics Office confirmed a preliminary estimate showing German gross domestic product slowing from [...]
More easing seen as China factory survey disappoints August 23, 2012 China’s manufacturing sector contracted at its sharpest pace in nine months in August, according to a survey showing falling export orders and rising inventories, a signal that more policy stimulus may be needed to engineer a second half pick-up in growth. As calls grew louder from analysts and investors for further measures from Beijing to [...]
Californian jurors get to work in Apple and Samsung case August 23, 2012 Nine jurors began deliberating today in Apple’s high stakes patent lawsuit against Samsung Electronics, a process that could take several days due to the complex legal issues in play. The trial began late last month in a San Jose, California federal court, just miles from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. Apple accuses Samsung of copying the [...]
Disgraced tycoon Nadir faces jail after 17 years on run August 22, 2012 Turkish Cypriot tycoon Asil Nadir, who jumped bail in 1993, was finally convicted in a British court today of plundering millions from his old company to buy antiques, race horses and country houses. Nadir, who transformed the small textile company Polly Peck into one of the top British stocks of the 1980s, returned to Britain [...]
FSA calls for curbs on exotic collective investment schemes August 22, 2012 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has widened its crackdown on unregulated investments in unusual assets such as crops and fine wines, saying they should not be promoted to retail investors as compensation for mis-selling may not be available. The FSA published proposals today to ban financial advisors from recommending so-called Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS) [...]
Carillion sees rising public sector demand August 22, 2012 Support services and construction firm Carillion said major public sector customers in areas like defence and health had not been put off outsourcing workers by the G4S Olympic security debacle, which sparked criticism by politicians. The growing trend of private firms running budget-squeezed public services was thrown into the spotlight in July when the world’s [...]
Germany sells £2.5bn of interest-free bonds August 22, 2012 Germany easily sold €4bn (£2.5bn) of new interest-free two-year bonds today, with investors edgy about European Central Bank (ECB) plans to curb the debt crisis, though demand was below this year’s average. Germany sold bonds with a zero coupon – meaning it pays no interest to the holder – for the second time this year, [...]
FTSE 100 dragged down by Eurozone woes August 22, 2012 The index was dragged down in early trading, as investors fretted over renewed uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone crisis. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due to meet with Euro Group chief Jean-Claude Juncker today to discuss the country’s austerity plans. By far the biggest faller in the index in early trading was TT Electronics, down [...]