Inflation expectations still sticky September 28, 2011 Stubbornly high inflation is here to stay, according to a survey released by YouGov yesterday. Inflation expectations for the year ahead stuck at 3.5 per cent in September, while respondents expect price pressures to be slightly higher (3.8 per cent) over the next five to 10 years.
Wages could edge up next year September 28, 2011 Over a third of human resources professionals expect to boost pay awards in 2012, a poll by Incomes Data Services revealed this morning. “Over half intend to make the same level of pay award in 2012 as they made in 2011,” the report said, with only 13 per cent expecting to reduce pay settlements.
US firms ramp up investments September 28, 2011 US businesses stepped up investment spending in August, in a rare positive sign for the country’s economy. Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a proxy for business spending, increased 1.1 per cent after falling 0.2 per cent in July.
Barroso calls on EU to finish integrating September 28, 2011 EUROPE needs to embrace fiscal union to save the euro, according to European Commission (EC) president José Manual Barroso. Addressing the European Parliament yesterday, Barroso declared: “We need to complete our monetary union with an economic union. We need to achieve the tasks of Maastricht. It was an illusion to think that we could have [...]
Finland gives its backing to EFSF extension September 28, 2011 THE FINNISH parliament yesterday backed extending the powers of the Eurozone bailout fund as members of the ruling coalition sought to keep the country on a pro-Europe course. Lawmakers comfortably supported the new powers for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), with 103 in favour, 66 against and 30 absent from yesterday’s vote. The Finnish [...]
Unicredit execs declare that the euro is finished September 28, 2011 THE EURO is dead and cannot be saved, while Greece will inevitably default, Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, head of global securities services at UniCredit Group wrote in an article on a Hungarian website yesterday. And Unicredit chief executive Federico Ghizzoni was reported to have said that US banks are withdrawing from the region entirely. “Having today US banks [...]
Short selling ban extended until November September 28, 2011 BANS on short-selling stocks in France Italy and Spain have again been extended. The Italian and French bans will remain until 11 November, while the Spanish curbs would remain until market conditions changed, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said in a statement. The three countries introduced the bans on 12 August in a [...]
Lloyds gets just one bid on branches September 28, 2011 LLOYDS has received just one formal bid on the 632 branches it is selling. NBNK Investments, the buy-out vehicle set up by Lord Levene, bid substantially below the £2bn that Lloyds is hoping to get. As part of the conditions of the bid, City A.M. understands that NBNK would agree to buy only a portion of [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO WE NEED ANOTHER RETAIL BANK? September 28, 2011 JASON PHILLIPS | REED PROFESSIONAL “It’s definitely a good idea to open up to another bank. All we have at the moment is the big four, and they’re doing an awful job. The regulations on them are too lax, so they can pull in huge profits.” ANDREW CUSKELLY | EMC “I think another bank would [...]
Barclays is top of the league for complaints September 28, 2011 BRITISH customers made more complaints about Barclays than any other banking brand in the first half of the year, according to data released by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday. Barclays was the subject of 251,563 complaints, with 53 per cent of closed cases upheld in customers’ favour, the regulator’s figures showed. Next on the [...]
