Asian markets slide as Chinese manufacturing disappoints February 20, 2014 Asian stocks are falling in the wake of the preliminary China purchasing managers' index (PMI) from HSBC/Markit for February, which fell to a seven-month low of 48.3. The index continued to slide from January's reading of 49.5, as employment declined at the most rapid rate seen in the past five years. A slowdown in the [...]
France and Germany to go ahead with transaction tax despite damning report February 19, 2014 France and Germany are preparing to push ahead with a financial transaction tax (FTT), before the European Parliamentary elections in May. French President Francois Hollande told a joint press conference on Wednesday "We want to wrap up (a deal on) the financial transaction tax, which has united us from the start, before the European elections." [...]
Someone in London just bought a house with an app February 19, 2014 For the first time ever customers will be able to buy houses using their smartphones, thanks to a new partnership between Barclays and Savills Auctions. Barclays Pingit app was used to make a deposit for the first time this month – by a homeowner who splashed out £23,000 on a house in Mitcham, South London. [...]
Greece posts first current account surplus since records began February 19, 2014 Greece has reached a current account surplus for the first time in 66 years, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Bank of Greece. The troubled EU nation posted a current account surplus of €1.2bn (£1bn) in January-December last year – compared to a deficit of €4.6bn the previous year. The Greek central bank [...]
Peugeot looks to Dongfeng deal in wake of 2013 loss February 19, 2014 French carmaker Peugeot Citroen has secured a deal with China's Dongfeng Motors and the French government that will see both invest €800m (£660m) in the company for a stake of 14 per cent. The company expects another €1.4bn to be raised from existing investors in Peugeot. Peugeot said the deal would "strengthen overseas cooperation to [...]
Carlsberg looks to the Far East as Europe disappoints February 19, 2014 Danish brewer Carlsberg has reported a fall in profit before tax to 7.8bn (£800m) Danish krone for the year to 31 December. The result was marginally down from last year's 8.1bn krone. The company was impacted by a decline in European and Russian markets of two per cent and eight per cent respectively. However, Carlsberg [...]
Asian markets calm as Japan boosts bank lending February 19, 2014 Asian markets have so far been indecisive as investors continue to await developments regarding Chinese interest rates. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is attempting to drive up the cost of money to encourage companies to deleverage and reduce shadow banking activity. However, there remain concerns that tightening may hurt economic growth over the short [...]
Fiverr forges new partnership with Coinbase February 11, 2014 The world's largest marketplace for selling services starting at $5 has teamed up with Bitcoin processing company Coinbase. Fiverr sellers who provide services from as little as $5 all the way up to $8,000, will now be able to receive payment in Bitcoin. Announcing the move on its website Coinbase said "Fiverr is also opening [...]
Immigration is a win-win for European cities says latest research February 11, 2014 Migrants within the European Union are on average likely to be younger, working and benefit the area they choose to move to, according to new research released today by Ernst & Young. In the wake of Switzerland's vote to reimpose quotas on EU immigration, Ernst & Young found cities that welcome EU mobile citizens enjoyed [...]
EU launches fresh assault on tax avoidance February 11, 2014 European antitrust regulators are set to investigate whether corporate tax arrangements across the EU that allow companies to reduce their tax liability are anti-competitive. European competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia outlined his concerns about such schemes in a speech this morning: In those cases where national laws or tax-administration decisions permit or encourage these practices, there [...]
