Lockhart confident the US will see an interest rate rise this year September 21, 2015 THE FEDERAL Reserve can still hike rates this year, a US central banker said last night. “I am confident the much-used phrase ‘later this year’ is still operative,” Dennis Lockhart, who votes on the rate-setting committee, said yesterday. “As things settle down, I will be ready for the first policy move on the path to a [...]
City Moves for 22 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 21, 2015 LEGAL & GENERAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Katharine Photiou has been appointed head of workplace defined contribution, product and proposition, at the investment management firm. She joins from Barclays, where she was head of workplace savings. Photiou has also held roles at Mercer and Friends Provident, latterly as head of defined contribution corporate strategy and design. JP [...]
Wall St rises despite fall in biotech shares – New York Report September 21, 2015 THE MAJOR US stock indexes ended higher yesterday, rebounding from losses late last week with help from Apple and financial shares, but a drop in biotech shares limited Nasdaq’s advance. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 125.54 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 16,510.12, the S&P 500 gained 9.03 points, or 0.46 per cent, to [...]
Greek debt crisis: Greece’s banks could still tip the fragile country into disaster September 21, 2015 When the Eurozone crisis first erupted five years ago, it was a crisis of confidence in the ability of peripheral countries (Greece, Spain, Portugal) to pay back the debt incurred in financing their swollen government deficits. Those countries, including Greece, have since virtually eliminated their fiscal deficits and, following the re-election of Alexis Tsipras [...]
London’s next mayor must be unashamedly in favour of airport and housing expansion September 21, 2015 I feel sorry for the Conservatives’ London mayoral candidates. With the political landscape transformed by the election of a “pre-1970s socialist” to the Labour leadership, voting in the current Tory primary feels a bit “after the Lord Mayor’s Show”. In such a centralised country, regional politics will always play second fiddle to stories about [...]
UK house prices: One million homes by 2020 will be yet another failed target if we don’t change policy radically September 21, 2015 This week, research by property website Rightmove predicted that the average price of a house in London could easily hit £1m by the end of 2020. Yes, you heard right: one million pounds – in five years. So, while it’s welcome news that Brandon Lewis, the housing minister, wants England to build 1m [...]
As George Osborne announces a £2bn guarantee for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, is this a good deal for the taxpayer? September 21, 2015 Amber Rudd, secretary of state for energy and climate change, says Yes Nuclear power is a good deal for the British taxpayer. And more than that, it is essential if we’re going to keep on providing secure, low-carbon energy into the future. Our £2bn guarantee to the new site in Somerset sends a clear signal [...]
QE programme details: Why all eyes are on ECB president Mario Draghi this week – eToro Tips & Picks September 21, 2015 The markets continue to be dominated by last week’s Fed rate decision. The Fed seems to have caused more concerns about emerging markets by not raising rates than it would have done if it had tightened policy. Investors are still trying to decipher just what last week’s meeting means for the markets and [...]
Sir Alex Ferguson: Press conferences can kill managers September 21, 2015 Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson insists the manager’s press conference is the most pivotal battleground in football and one which can prove terminal to an individual’s career if executed shabbily. Ferguson attracted a reputation for using a press conference to dictate the agenda during his 26-year managerial career at Old Trafford, a time [...]
Banks brace for tax showdown: City giants warn jobs and growth are at risk from Whitehall interference September 21, 2015 Unpredictable and excessive taxes are pushing the British banking sector to the brink, according to a major new report by a leading industry body. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and PwC reveal that the UK banking sector contributed an estimated total of £31.3bn in taxes last year, and warn of the risk posed to [...]
