UK sinks deeper into recession than expected July 25, 2012 Britain’s economy shrank far more than expected in the second quarter of 2012, battered by everything from an extra day’s holiday to budget austerity and the neighbouring Eurozone crisis. Chancellor George Osborne said the country had “deep-rooted economic problems”. The Office for National Statistics said Britain’s gross domestic product fell 0.7 per cent in the [...]
Greece and Spain spark Euro fear July 24, 2012 THE SPANISH government’s borrowing costs shot to a euro-era high yesterday as another regional authority requested a bailout, panicking already nervous investors who now fear a full rescue might be needed to try to help the country out of its debt troubles. It came as EU officials warned Greece could also need another bailout, meaning [...]
Apple slows on iPhone 5 speculation July 24, 2012 APPLE recorded a rare quarter of disappointing sales last night, sending shares down almost six per cent in after-hours trading, as demand for its iPhone fell ahead of the impending release of its next model. The world’s largest company by market value said revenues were $35bn (£22.6bn) in the three months to July, lower than [...]
London’s enterprise sees bright future for business July 24, 2012 LONDON’S businesses are bullish about both their own futures and the short-term economic outlook for London as a whole, according to research published by the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) today. A balance of 37 per cent of firms had positive overall expectations for their business over the coming 12 months, compared to [...]
First signs that foreign investors are losing trust in Britain July 24, 2012 WITH the Eurozone back in crisis, it is tempting to assume that Britain will be fine, that we don’t share the problems plaguing much of the continent. Such complacency would be a mistake. As an intriguing note from Credit Agricole points out, there are growing signs that investors are losing confidence in sterling’s status as [...]
Green regrets HSBC failings but will stay on July 24, 2012 TRADE minister Lord Green yesterday admitted that he “regrets” HSBC’s failures in relation to alleged money laundering while he was in charge of the bank – but says he has no intention of resigning. As HSBC’s former chairman and chief executive, Green has come under pressure to explain what he knew about the company’s compliance procedures [...]
Games strikes face injunction July 24, 2012 THE HOME Office is mounting a last-gasp attempt to block planned strike action by border workers during the Olympics, it emerged yesterday. “Procedural errors” in the strike ballot could be used in support of an injunction to halt the industrial action due to start tomorrow. The PCS union has said thousands of public sector workers, [...]
Boss of Anglo Irish charged July 24, 2012 FORMER Anglo Irish Bank head Sean FitzPatrick was charged yesterday over his part in Ireland’s most expensive bank failure, making him the highest profile banker to face prison in connection with his country’s financial meltdown. FitzPatrick, the face of Ireland’s banking crisis after serving as Anglo chief executive during its rapid rise and chairman during [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 24, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Green energy compromise reached Wind investors will escape deep cuts to subsidies but the coalition will not commit to tough new targets for decarbonising British electricity generation under a compromise deal thrashed out between George Osborne and Ed Davey, the energy secretary. Under the agreement, to be announced today in parliament, Mr Davey [...]
Major powers for Salz inquiry into Barclays July 24, 2012 TOP LAWYER Anthony Salz will have free rein to speak to staff and examine company documents in his inquiry aimed at cleaning up Barclays’ culture in the wake of the Libor scandal, the bank revealed yesterday. The former Freshfields senior partner has roughly nine months to investigate what went wrong at the bank and to [...]
