IMF urges fast reforms March 18, 2012 EUROPE’S economies must seize the moment to push through vital economic reforms, and not wait until a renewed crisis forces them to make changes, IMF boss Christine Lagarde said yesterday. She spoke as Greek socialist party PASOK voted for finance minister Evangelos Venizelos as party leader, as it heads towards a general election with a [...]
Euro jobs at risk if crude hits $150 March 18, 2012 SURGING OIL PRICES have the potential to knock the Eurozone further into recession and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, according to analysis by Ernst & Young. If the price of crude hits $150 (£95) a barrel this year, the consultancy expects to see contraction of one per cent in the Eurozone’s GDP, compared to [...]
Argentina gets support on Falklands March 18, 2012 SOUTH American nations backed Argentina’s claim to oil near the Falkland Islands at the weekend, arguing that British firms are hunting for fuel in the region “unilaterally”. Argentina said last week it would take civil and criminal action against any companies involved in oil exploration off the islands, known as the Malvinas in South America. [...]
Investors call for improved stewardship March 18, 2012 A GROUP of major asset managers including Aviva and BlackRock are calling today for reforms to improve the stewardship of UK companies. The group’s report argues for the development of a framework for equity investors to identify the level of stewardship they plan to undertake, helping asset owners to make better decisions. It also calls [...]
Monti confident on talks March 18, 2012 ITALIAN prime minister Mario Monti faces an arduous task this week to reconcile the demands of unions and employers and draft a labour reform aimed at boosting Italy’s competitiveness and shielding it from the Eurozone debt crisis. With a self-imposed deadline to get a deal by the end of this week the signs are not [...]
Legal sector set to shrink during 2012 March 18, 2012 THE UK’s legal sector is set to contract this year, with up to 3,000 lawyers leaving the profession as revenues remain flat at most firms. According to research by RBS, a further five per cent of fee-earning lawyers need to be stripped out of the market in order for firms to return to levels of [...]
Why the bulls are building a head of steam March 18, 2012 SO it’s another week and the bull market for stocks remains intact. The S&P 500 has breached the 1,400 level for the first time since June 2008, while in Europe equities are at fresh year highs, with Germany’s Dax up over 21 per cent. The FTSE is an underperformer, but still up an acceptable seven [...]
Airbus in long fight over cracks March 18, 2012 Airbus will need years to get past problems with wing cracks on its flagship A380 passenger jet, the executive vice president of programmes at Airbus told German magazine Der Spiegel. “This problem will keep us busy for years,” Tom Williams was quoted as saying yesterday. European air safety regulators last month ordered checks for A380 [...]
Etisalat eyes finance services March 18, 2012 UAE telecoms operator Etisalat, which saw $1.8bn (£1.1bn) moved over its network last year via money transfers, has sought regulatory approval to expand its financial services offerings in the Gulf region, home to millions of expatriates. Mobile money services allow customers to pay bills or make remittances using SMS text messages, often at a cheaper [...]
ProSieben buying Endor stake March 18, 2012 German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat1 is to buy a majority stake in British movie and television producer Endor from producer Hilary Bevan Jones, the head of ProSieben’s production unit Red Arrow told a German newspaper. “We are reaching a new dimension with the takeover of British production company Endor,” Handelsblatt daily cited Jan Frouman as saying [...]
