KPMG to cut hundreds of UK staff August 23, 2012 KPMG has told staff it is planning hundreds of redundancies, with up to three per cent of its UK headcount at risk, City A.M. has learned. The firm is the only one the Big Four professional services firms to embark upon a redundancy programme in recent years. “KPMG continues to grow its UK business in [...]
BoE says Britons would be worse off without QE August 23, 2012 The Bank of England defended today its policy of government bond purchases against criticism from savers and pensioners, saying recession would have been deeper and most Britons would have been worse off without its stimulus measures. The central bank has come under fire from politicians, the pension fund industry and lobby groups, claiming that the [...]
FTSE 100 up on stimulus hopes August 23, 2012 The headline index opened higher this morning on hopes of fresh stimulus from China and the US. The US Federal Reserve suggested last night that another round of stimulus could be likely if the economy doesn’t recover soon. Headline mining shares led the index up, with Allied Gold Mining adding 4.33 per cent in early [...]
Retailers report surprise sales drop in August August 23, 2012 British retailers reported an unexpected drop in sales in August, a survey by business lobby the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed today, indicating that the Olympics failed to give shops the much-needed boost. Most British retailers have been struggling because consumers have been reluctant to spend as rising prices, tax increases and high unemployment [...]
Fed looks set to ease fairly soon barring swift rebound August 23, 2012 The Federal Reserve is likely to deliver another round of monetary stimulus “fairly soon” unless the economy improves considerably, minutes from the US central bank’s latest meeting suggested. While the 31 July-1 August meeting occurred before some encouraging economic data, including a stronger-than-expected rise in July payrolls, policymakers were pretty categorical about their dissatisfaction with [...]
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 [...]
