Stronger US growth revealed by revisions as Fed ponders taper August 29, 2013 NEW INFORMATION on the US economy paints a picture of much stronger growth in the second quarter, jumping from 1.7 per cent annualised to 2.5 per cent. The alteration announced yesterday may have consequences for the actions of the Federal Reserve, as the central bank decides when to trim the huge US programme of quantitative easing. [...]
UK confidence jumps ahead of EU competition August 29, 2013 THE NUMBER of people suggesting the economy is in good shape has risen more over the past year in the UK than any other large country in the European Union. As the UK finally records growth again, the proportion of people who think the economy is in a good position more than doubled in the [...]
Serco shares hit by fraud claims as probe looms August 29, 2013 SERCO had its worst trading day in 11 years yesterday after allegations it fudged performance figures on a £285m contract to deliver prisoners to courts across London. The Hampshire based business, which was awarded the contract by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in 2011, has been placed on a three month probation to improve or [...]
Zurich chair Ackermann resigns after the death of finance boss August 29, 2013 THE CHAIRMAN of insurance firm Zurich shocked the company by resigning yesterday in the wake of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier’s apparent suicide. Josef Ackermann has given up all board duties with immediate effect, saying in a statement that “I have reasons to believe that the family is of the opinion that I should take [...]
Kentz and Amec stick to their guns risking deadlock on deal August 29, 2013 FTSE 100-listed engineering firm Amec’s takeover approach for smaller peer Kentz risks heading towards a stalemate, as it emerges that both sides are unwilling to make the next move. Amec is not thought to be willing to increase its offer before the 16 September put-up-or-shut-up deadline unless Kentz can show it can generate greater value, [...]
Fewer people moving to and away from UK August 29, 2013 IMMIGRATION and emigration both fell in 2012, official figures revealed yesterday, resulting in an overall slowdown in the net flow of people into the UK. A total of 497,000 people migrated to the UK last year, a sharp drop from the 566,000 in the previous 12 months. At the same time emigration levels fell from [...]
Nasdaq blames software bug for its three-hour trading shutdown August 29, 2013 NASDAQ OMX Group’s massive trading halt last week was due to a software bug and other internal technology issues triggered by problems at NYSE Euronext’s Arca exchange that led a key backup system to fail, the exchange operator said yesterday. Nasdaq said it was “deeply disappointed” by the three-hour outage on 22 August and while [...]
World watchdog details plans to clamp down on shadow banks August 29, 2013 SHADOW banks and their links to the rest of the financial sector will come under closer scrutiny under new plans published by global watchdog the Financial Stability Board (FSB) yesterday. Institutions like money market funds can offer services very similar to deposit taking and will be monitored as regulators fear they can represent a risk [...]
Private or easy: highflyers split on jet choices August 29, 2013 NAT ROTHSCHILD may have been eschewing the use of private jets as his preferred mode of transport recently and choosing EasyJet, but not all City high-flyers are travelling on a budget just yet. Entrepreneur and fund manager Jim Mellon was in town this week, and told The Capitalist he was in the middle of choosing [...]
End of M: Doors of PR firm close for good August 29, 2013 THE EXODUS from M Communications, the top flight financial public relations agency founded by City veterans Nick Miles (pictured) and Hugh Morrison has finally come to a grinding halt, as the firm, for all intents and purposes, has now ceased trading. A mole told The Capitalist yesterday that the plug was being pulled today, although a [...]
