Ireland’s GDP falls sharply March 25, 2010 Ireland’s economy shrank far more than forecast in the fourth quarter of 2009 and revisions showed it did not exit Europe’s longest-running recession last year. GDP fell by 2.3 per cent in the fourth quarter from the preceding quarter, data showed yesterday, more than the 0.7 per cent drop expected.
BAE Systems secures key contract wins March 25, 2010 BAE Systems yesterday won a £127m four-year contract to produce the specification for development and manufacture of a new class of British warship. Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth said he had also agreed for BAE to start building the fifth of a planned seven Astute class submarines in Barrow-in-Furness in northwest England, and begin procurement for [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THESE CONTRACT WINS ARE FOR BAE SYSTEMS? March 25, 2010 HENK POTTS | BARCLAYS WEALTH These are clearly positive deals for both BAE’s long-term performance and the thousands of people who work there. More importantly, it indicates BAE is still at the cutting edge of technological design and able to win significant orders. The wins are also good for its international standing. JUSTIN URQUHART STEWART [...]
IFS: Darling not clear on where cuts will be made March 25, 2010 GOVERNMENT departments will be faced with swingeing cuts to their budgets over the next four years as the Treasury tries to plug the £51bn black hole in the country’s public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned yesterday The think-tank slated the government for not providing the necessary detail on how it would repair [...]
Osborne labels Budget empty and unrealistic March 25, 2010 GEORGE Osborne, shadow chancellor, tore into Alistair Darling’s budget proposals in the Commons yesterday, labelling them “empty” and “an exercise in politics, not an example of governing”. The chancellor failed to outline plans on how the government would cut the Budget deficit, which could yet see the UK’s credit rating slashed before the next general [...]
Pimco ace tells investors to avoid UK gilts over debt fears March 25, 2010 BILL Gross, the influential fund manager at fixed income titan Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco), has urged investors to shun UK government debt due to fears over national borrowing. Pimco’s managing director said Britain’s debt burden would force the Treasury to issue increasing volumes of gilts. This would usher in inflation and depreciate the pound, [...]
Markets take a flutter on bookmakers March 25, 2010 SHARES in bookmakers bobbed upwards yesterday after an uneventful Budget saw chancellor Alistair Darling refrain from hitting the industry with tax hikes. FTSE 250-listed Ladbrokes gained 4.3 per cent to 155p while William Hill climbed four per cent to 213p. Oriel Securities analyst Jeffrey Harwood said: “Both companies have breathed a sigh of relief that [...]
Treasury Committee prepares to grill influential economists’ panel March 25, 2010 THE House of Commons Treasury Committee will next week begin taking evidence for its inquiry into the 2010 Budget. The influential group of MPs will grill chancellor Alistair Darling, who is set to appear on Tuesday along with chief economic adviser Dave Ramsden. But first on Monday economic experts including the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ [...]
Cider war fizzes on as militants take up anti-darling arms March 25, 2010 AS VOTE-losers go, chancellor Alistair Darling’s punitive tax on cider really is shaping up to be a corker. By close of play yesterday – just a day after Darling announced in the Budget he will be popping duty on the tipple at 10 per cent above the rate of inflation from midnight on Sunday – [...]
Foreigners to avoid Darling’s stamp duty March 25, 2010 WEALTHY foreigners will avoid paying Alistair Darling’s latest stamp duty hike on properties worth over £1m at an opportunity cost of tens of millions to the Treasury’s coffers, it emerged yesterday. Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which are set up offshore for the purpose of holding property, own a large amount of the UK’s high-end estates. [...]
