S&P reaffirms UK’S triple-A rating October 3, 2011 Britain’s prized triple-A sovereign debt rating could come under pressure if the government strays from its path of public deficit cuts in the face of weaker growth, credit agency Standard & Poor’s said. In a release that coincided with a keynote speech by finance minister George Osborne at his Conservative Party’s annual conference, S&P said [...]
Osborne in credit easing plan for businesses October 3, 2011 Chancellor George Osborne has said “credit easing” – a move aimed at cutting the cost of borrowing for hard-pressed businesses – would be triggered. The strategy would involve the public sector buying bonds issues by companies, was “potentially very significant” but full details would not be revealed until the chancellor’s autumn statement in November. In [...]
Greek crisis saps market confidence October 3, 2011 Banks were the biggest fallers across Europe on opening this morning after Greece admitted it will not meet 2011-2012 deficit targets imposed by international lenders as part of the country’s bailout. The sector was down 3.7 per cent on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, illustrating the problem for financial institutions saddled with burden of the [...]
Manufacturing in surprise bounce back October 3, 2011 British manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew for the first time in three months in September, although a slide in new export orders highlighted the dangers facing the sluggish recovery, a survey showed. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI headline activity index rose to 51.1 last month from an upwardly revised 49.4 in August. This was well above the [...]
Charles Stanley hit by market volatility October 3, 2011 The global market downturn hit British fund management companies Charles Stanley and City of London Investment Group with Charles Stanley warning of a drop in its first-half profits. Charles Stanley said the market slump, caused by fears over Europe’s debt crisis, had led to lower revenue at its securities division which would mean that first-half [...]
It’s make or break for the Tory party October 3, 2011 POLICIES to boost growth. That is what the Conservative Party conference, which started last night, must focus on. Growth has ground to a halt, partly because of global forces but also because too little has been done to make the UK once again a competitive place in which to work, invest and operate a business. [...]
Osborne to extend council tax freeze October 3, 2011 A council tax freeze in England will be extended to 2012-13 under plans to be unveiled at the Conservative Party conference by chancellor George Osborne. The £805m move will be paid for by a Whitehall “underspend”, aides said. The government cannot force councils to freeze bills – but it is offering to give those which [...]
Avanti losses widen October 3, 2011 Satellite operator Avanti Communications Group posted a much wider full-year loss on higher costs after it decided to manage three satellite projects instead of one in the period. Avanti, whose results for the year include the first revenue from its superfast broadband satellite HYLAS 1, said it started the early-stage work for the construction of [...]
City prefers Boris ahead of Osborne October 2, 2011 BORIS Johnson would make a better future Prime Minister than George Osborne, according to the City A.M. / PoliticsHome Voice of the City panel. Of those who expressed a preference, fifty-seven per cent said theywould pick Johnson, the Mayor of London, (inset picture) as the next Tory leader compared to just 43 per cent for [...]
More UBS execs to go in shake-up October 2, 2011 SEVERAL senior executives from UBS’ risk management division are set to be axed in the next few days as the bank tries to move on from the $2.3bn (£1.5bn) “rogue” trading scandal. Carsten Kengeter, the head of the investment bank, is seeking to regain the initiative after criticism of UBS for its lack of communication [...]
