Banks boost rally across Wall Street March 14, 2012 THE US stock market posted its best day this year, with yesterday’s late spark coming from JPMorgan Chase & Co after the bank announced it will raise its dividend. Stocks gained throughout the session, helped by stronger-than-expected retail sales and benign comments from the US Federal Reserve, which said recent strains on financial markets were [...]
The three frontrunners for France’s presidency will all lead down the wrong track March 14, 2012 THERE will be no winners in the French presidential election this April. One leading candidate is the unrepentant socialist Francois Hollande, who thinks 75 per cent is an optimal tax rate. The other is Nicolas Sarkozy, who has just managed to nudge himself into the lead with a desperate speech calling for two of the [...]
Smarter choices on tax should be agreed on by all March 14, 2012 THE debate between the Occupy movement and its City neighbours was never clarified, but essentially was about bigger or smaller government. Not surprisingly those receiving benefits but not paying tax want more of both, while those paying the bills want less. Close proximity sadly did little to diminish the caricatures of greedy banker and welfare [...]
Vince Cable’s vision for UK plc neglects liberty March 14, 2012 VINCE Cable, the business secretary, wrote to the Prime Minister last week, lamenting the lack of a clear economic “vision”. He thinks the government must decide “how we will earn our living in the future.” By “we”, Cable was not referring to David Cameron and himself. How they will earn a living is clear, at [...]
RAPID RESPONSES March 14, 2012 Flight of fancy [Re:A third runway at Heathrow isn’t enough. Let’s allow regional airports to take off, yesterday] Paul Kehoe sets out some salient facts based on the business evidence. Integrated transport is the way forward, along with removal of the complex structures imposed on the aviation industry to control prices, including fuel subsidies. Part [...]
Keeping the world’s most complex event on the right side of the law March 14, 2012 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 135 DAYS TO GO Tim Jones explains why Freshfields is the official legal services provider to the 2012 London Olympics Q. what was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the games? A. We’d been involved for a long time, since 2003 when we worked on the [...]
Dollar boosted by Fed QE3 stimulus restraint March 14, 2012 THE Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) followed expectations by holding rates yesterday, and at the same time dispelled the possibility of an immediate third round of quantitative easing (QE3). Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pointed to “an improving economic situation”, though checked any untoward optimism by acknowledging that economic growth would be moderate. The central [...]
RESOLUTION OF GREEK DEBT CRISIS IS KEY March 14, 2012 UK BRANCH MANAGER, EASY-FOREX IS THE Greek debt restructuring a turning point in the EU debt crisis? Despite the announcement of a Greek debt restructuring, the country’s debt woes are far from resolved. Even with the successful debt swap, the Greek debt burden will remain above 120 per cent of gross domestic product, which the [...]
Third gen Boxster has a real kick March 14, 2012 Yes sir we do have a swimming pool but I’m afraid you cannot swim in it because there is a car in it.” And so there was, a new Porsche Boxster, slap bang in the middle of the swimming pool at the Kube Hotel in St Tropez. No swim then, how disappointing. But then that’s [...]
CAR TALK March 14, 2012 FASTEST BENTLEY EVER IS PREVIEWED The Geneva motor show revealed some surprising introductions. Bentley’s EXP 9 F SUV concept will be the fastest and most expensive 4×4 ever if it makes production – which is likely as it would mean an all-important lucrative third model for Bentley and markets like China, Russia, and the Middle [...]
