Offer fails to avert strikes November 2, 2011 THE TREASURY laid out an improved deal on public sector pension reform yesterday, but unions said it was not enough to avert a national strike planned for 30 November. Unions representing more than 2m workers have been locked in a dispute with the coalition over its plans to raise pension contributions as part of deficit-cutting [...]
Europe is finally giving up on Greece November 2, 2011 WHO will blink first? The Greeks – or the Eurozone? Both have lots to lose from a Greek collapse and withdrawal from the euro; and Georgios Papandreou’s decision to bet everything on a referendum on the bailout package has massively upped the stakes. Until yesterday, it seemed as if Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel would [...]
Fed sticks to the Twist November 2, 2011 THE FEDERAL Reserve will hold down interest rates and continue with its project dubbed “Operation Twist”, it announced last night. Growth “strengthened somewhat in the third quarter,” it said, yet warned of “significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets.” Three hawks who had previously dissented against Operation Twist – [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LENOVO FOUNDER LIU STEPS DOWN AS CHAIRMAN The man who founded Lenovo and built it into the world’s second-biggest PC maker by sales has retired as chairman, handing over to his chief executive, in a sign of confidence that its recent turnround is on track. The retirement of Liu Chuanzhi came as Lenovo’s [...]
Russia set to join the WTO November 2, 2011 Russia removed the last major hurdle to its 18-year-old bid to join the World Trade Organisation yesterday by agreeing to a compromise deal with Georgia, and it could now join the global trading club within months. WTO entry would make Russia’s $1.9 trillion economy, the biggest outside the 153-member club, more attractive to investors and [...]
ANZ disappoints with results November 2, 2011 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group turned out the least impressive second-half profit among Australia’s major lenders this morning, stung by higher costs, and sent a clear signal that their growth is now on the wane. The bank posted four per cent growth in second-half underlying profit, much less than two of its main rivals [...]
Worries over slow demand for EFSF debt November 2, 2011 THE FIRST bond issue by Europe’s bailout fund since it was given new powers was postponed yesterday on fears that there is not enough investor appetite for its debt. Initially the fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), had planned to raise €5bn (£4.3bn), before cutting the size of the issue to €3bn earlier this [...]
Eurozone PMI falls but stocks bounce November 2, 2011 MARKETS rallied yesterday after a dramatic fall on Tuesday as the possible implications of a Greek referendum were digested by the markets. In stocks, the DAX rose 2.25 per cent to 5,965.63, the CAC 40 moved up 1.38 per cent to 3,110.59 and the FTSE followed suit, up 1.15 per cent to 5,484.10. In the [...]
BoJ eases bank funding trouble November 2, 2011 WORRIES over European financial woes pushed the Bank of Japan into lending dollars to banks yesterday. Responding to increasingly tight lending the Bank supplied $2m (£1.25m) to a one-week operation and $100m in a three-month operation. Bankers in Japan believe a foreign bank with operations in the country needed the facility. “This is probably a [...]
Greek CDS soar on referendum November 2, 2011 CREDIT default swaps (CDS) on Greek debt shot up yesterday as Greece confirmed it was looking to hold a referendum on the EU bailout package. Five-year CDS soared 45.36 per cent, because investors saw an increased chance of an official “credit event”. If a haircut on private holdings of debt is “voluntary”, CDS are not [...]
