Lagarde warns of sluggish growth April 2, 2014 Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, yesterday said the world economy is set to expand more slowly than long-term trends for the next few years as slow price growth in the Eurozone and geopolitical tensions keep a lid on the economy.
Goldman caught up in cable fine April 2, 2014 Goldman Sachs and ten cable firms were yesterday fined a total of €302m (£181.6m) by European regulators for running a cartel. Goldman Sachs acquired Prysmian, one of the cable firms, via one of its private equity funds in 2005 but has since sold its holding.
Boost for US manufacturing and jobs April 2, 2014 US factory orders bounced back from a winter lull during February, growing by 1.6 per cent from January’s level and indicating that recent weaker economic data was mostly down to poor weather. Figures showing that firms added 191,000 new workers to their books in March also indicated a similar trend for a general recovery in [...]
Greece’s bond yields drop to four-year low April 2, 2014 GREEK bond yields fell to fresh four-year lows yesterday, a day after the country’s lenders agreed to release the next tranche of its bailout programme. Signs of lower borrowing costs have prompted Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras to say that his government could start to issue new long-term bonds for the first time in four [...]
BP to close Australia refinery and cut jobs April 2, 2014 BP YESTERDAY said it plans to halt operations at a small-scale refinery in Australia, slashing more than 350 jobs. The FTSE 100 oil major will shut down the 102,000 barrels per day Brisbane refinery by mid-2015, due to commercial pressure from larger plants in the Asia-Pacific region. “The best option for strengthening BP’s long-term supply [...]
Tullow plans £300m notes to repay debt April 2, 2014 TULLOW Oil, the FTSE 100-quoted energy explorer, yesterday said it plans to issue a $500m (£300m) bond to repay existing debt. The company, which has seen its share price slide in recent months due to a stream of unsuccessful exploration activities across Kenya, Norway and French Guiana, said that interest will be payable twice per [...]
Sales of used cars in UK rise to a five-year high April 2, 2014 MORE than 6.8m used cars changed hands in the UK last year with the second-hand market reaching its highest level since 2008, according to new research. Data giant Experian found that the total number grew despite a 1.18 per cent drop in Greater London. Sales of new cars have boomed in recent years in the UK, [...]
French finance minister gets the chop as Valls cabinet revealed April 2, 2014 THE NEW French cabinet was unveiled yesterday morning, following the appointment of new Prime Minister Manuel Valls at the beginning of the week. The biggest alteration was the departure of finance minister Pierre Moscovici, following France’s stagnant economic performance. The job will be split into two parts: Michel Sapin will take over finance aspects of the job, [...]
Stock stampede doubles amount of market floats April 2, 2014 STOCK market flotations around the world doubled last quarter, driven by a near record high in issuance across Europe despite a stall in M&A activity, fresh figures show. The boom in stock market issues means a $4.8bn (£2.9bn) windfall for investment banks around the world, due to fees rising by nearly a third compared to the [...]
Industry price slump speeds up in Eurozone April 2, 2014 PRODUCER prices in the Eurozone declined at the fastest rate in more than three years in the 12 months to February, falling 1.7 per cent as broader inflation slumps. The year-on-year drop is the largest since December 2010, but without including the 4.4 per cent drop in domestic energy prices, the decline would only have [...]
