Euro periphery fails to rebalance and cut debts December 15, 2014 SIX YEARS after the financial crisis struck, the disparate and struggling Eurozone economies have still not overcome their imbalances – and progress could be grinding to a halt, Standard and Poor’s analysts said yesterday. Despite their debt crises, the peripheral economies’ external debts have been growing. Simultaneously, Germany and other strong nations have been increasing their [...]
Belgian unions strike over pension reforms December 15, 2014 Belgian unions grounded all flights, halted all trains and closed hundreds of factories and offices in a nationwide strike yesterday in protest over the government’s planned pension reforms and budget cuts. In Brussels, police held back striking workers who rioted outside the offices of Flemish separatist party N-VA, one of the four parties in the [...]
City Moves for 16 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 15, 2014 Vail Williams Nina Epstein has been appointed senior management surveyor at the commercial property adviser. She joins from DTZ, where she worked in its property asset management/business development division. Epstein has also held roles at Cushman & Wakefield, LaSalle Investment Management, and CB Hillier Parker. Aviva Investors Mark Connolly has been appointed chief investment officer, [...]
Best of the Brokers for 16 December 2014 December 15, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SPORTS DIRECT Numis reiterated its “buy” rating following “robust” first-half results, with sports retail sales’ growth of 1.5 per cent during the second quarter. The broker noted that Sports Direct’s portfolio was set to grow to include between 30 to 40 new stores [...]
Plunging oil prices weigh heavily but Carpetright soars – London Report December 15, 2014 London stocks fell yesterday, with the FTSE 100 down for a sixth consecutive session, as equities markets failed to hold on to an early rally as fears about sliding oil prices and demand for other basic commodities took hold once more. The FTSE 100 ended down 1.9 per cent, or 117.91 points, at 6,182.72, with [...]
Dow drops in volatile session – New York Report December 15, 2014 US STOCKS ended lower yesterday in a volatile session as oil prices extended their selloff, adding to worries about weak global demand. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 99.99 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 17,180.84, the S&P 500 lost 12.7 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 1,989.63 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 48.44 points, [...]
Greek gamble: Can Syriza be kept at bay? – CNBC Comment December 15, 2014 POLITICAL risk will be a key feature of Europe next year. Elections will take place in France, Portugal, Spain, maybe even in Italy, and there’s a real fear that populist parties could rise to the fore. A manifestation of that fear sent the Greek stock market tumbling 20 per cent last week, after Prime Minister [...]
Why plunging oil has derailed the Santa Claus Rally – DailyFX Tips & Picks December 15, 2014 WHILE children look forward to Christmas Day, many grown-ups are more excited by the Santa Claus Rally. This usually entails a nice boost to stock markets at the end of the year, generating a good return. But the FTSE 100 is down this month – someone has clearly been naughty. And the culprit is said [...]
Car review: The Lexus RC F is a slow burner, but its bark is better than its bite December 15, 2014 The gated communities of Marbella are used to hearing the growl of attention-seeking supercars. But for all the Ferraris and Lamborghinis with their oversized exhausts, it was the bark of Lexus’s new V8-engined RC F sports coup that had people jumping out of their skin when I visited. Pedestrians, too, found it hard to ignore [...]
Not convinced? December 15, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… BMW M4 PRICE: £56,650 0-62MPH: 4.3 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 204g/km MPG COMBINED: 32.1mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Three Stars PERFORMANCE Four Stars PRACTICALITY Three Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars JAGUAR F-TYPE S COUPE PRICE: £60,250 0-62MPH: 4.9 secs TOP SPEED: 171mph CO2 G/KM: 213g/km MPG COMBINED: 31.0mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Four Stars [...]
