Families failing to plan for retirement or joblessness October 25, 2011 HALF of parents in the UK have no financial plans for retirement, sickness and unemployment, according to a survey published today by HSBC. Forty-eight per cent have no life insurance, whilst 59 per cent of childless adults are in the same position. Medical expenses come even lower down the list of priorities, with only 18 [...]
INDIA RAISES RATES YET GETS SET TO HOLD October 25, 2011 INDIA’S central bank raised interest rates yesterday for the 13th time since early 2010 but gave a strong signal it may be finished with its current tightening cycle as growth slows and it expects high inflation to ease from December. The Reserve Bank of India raised its policy lending rate, the repo rate, by 25 [...]
Bearish Canada keeps rates low October 25, 2011 The Bank of Canada took the prospect of interest rate hikes off the table yesterday with downgraded forecasts that showed some of the gloss coming off an economic recovery touted as the strongest in the G7. The central bank held its key interest rate steady at an ultra-low one per cent, as expected, but said [...]
Cautious Hungary maintains rate October 25, 2011 The central bank of Hungary left its interest rates unchanged at six per cent yesterday. The monetary board has kept rates at six per cent since the end of January this year. The bank released a cautious statement, warning of economic risks to Hungary.
Business morale down in Belgium October 25, 2011 Business confidence in Belgium has continued to tumble, according to data released yesterday. Registering a seventh straight month of decline, the National Bank of Belgium’s confidence index dropped one point to -10.4. “A breaching of the -10 level is generally consistent with a contraction in economic activity,” commented BNP Paribas in a note.
UK inflation expectations ease October 25, 2011 Inflation expectations have edged down to 3.4 per cent for the coming year, despite the consumer price index (CPI) spiking to 5.2 per cent in September. A YouGov survey also showed a decline in medium term (five to 10 year) expectations, to 3.4 per cent also.
ARM boss Warren East plans to take over the world – one chip at a time October 25, 2011 Afew years ago a friend of mine tipped a little-known chip designer called ARM Holdings. He said it was going to be the next big thing. A year later, after its shares had shot up, he cursed his luck for not taking his own advice. But he prudently decided not to invest while it was [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 25, 2011 ELECTROCOMPONENTS UBS rates the electrical component distributor as “neutral” with a target price of 205p, ahead of a first half report on 14 November. With sales growth of 11 per cent year-on-year already reported, the broker expects profit before tax and amortisation to rise 19 per cent to £59.9m, and earning per share up 18 [...]
Merkel helps send FTSE into retreat October 25, 2011 MINERS and banks retreated as Britain’s FTSE 100 fell yesterday after comments from the German chancellor led to concerns over how far European leaders would go to solve the region’s debt crisis. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany opposes a phrase in a draft conclusion for today’s EU summit that calls for the European Central Bank [...]
US rally broken by cancelled euro summit October 25, 2011 US stocks fell yesterday on doubts European leaders can agree on a plan to end the Eurozone debt crisis, while major corporations disappointed investors with their outlooks. Though EU and Eurozone leaders still planned to hold a summit today, markets were spooked by news that a meeting by Eurozone finance ministers was cancelled. The news [...]
