Data fans slump fears September 2, 2008 Weak data with British mortgage approvals at their lowest level in 15 years and the manufacturing sector shrinking for its fourth straight month in August yesterday heightened fears that a UK recession was now inevitable. The Bank of England said that mortgage approvals, seen as an indicator of future movements in house prices, fell to [...]
Sterling hits a record low against euro September 2, 2008 Pressure mounts as the Treasury prepares to slash the UK’s economic growth forecasts Gloomy comments by Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, were yesterday blamed for pushing the pound to an all-time low against the euro. Sterling reached a 12-year low against the currencies of its major trading partners after Darling said the economy [...]
Berbatov granted dream United move while Spurs land trio on deadline day September 2, 2008 Manchester United last night beat the clock by a matter of minutes to finally land Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov for £30.8m and bring a dramatic end to a nerve-jangling transfer deadline day. Old Trafford chiefs were locked in negotiations with Spurs over the Bulgarian hitman right up until the midnight deadline. But the Premier League [...]
Going short is not necessarily the answer September 2, 2008 A medium or long term approach may be wisest just now, says Katie Hope Its’ like a grim version of “when I were a lad…” working in the City at the moment. Everyone’s trying to out-do themselves in describing just how bad things have got. Going to school barefoot barely makes the grade in terms [...]
Inexperience is no bad thing in business and politics September 2, 2008 If anyone needed more evidence that the 21st century was going to be one where women take on new levels of prominence, Sarah Palin’s nomination as Vice Presidential candidate on John McCain’s ticket was there to bring home the point. What an odd choice you say? A heart beat away from the Presidency and no [...]
Gustav hits the coast of New Orleans September 2, 2008 The dreaded Hurricane Gustav ripped through the US Gulf coast last night, thrashing New Orleans with strong winds and heavy rain as it arrived, but sparing it the full force devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. The National Hurricane Centre downgraded winds to a category two shortly before it hit. The Louisiana coastline [...]
Business hit by wave of receiverships September 2, 2008 Business failures in Britain are set to soar to 17,000 this year. Government statistics for the first six months of 2008 show them rising by a staggering third over last year’s total of 12,507. And some of Britain’s most well-established companies are among the earliest victims. Those going into receivership, having traded for at least [...]
Atticus sees £2.7bn losses as downturn hits it hard September 2, 2008 Atticus, the high-profile New York hedge fund involved in the failed Barclays bid for ABN-Amro, has lost more than $5bn (£2.8bn) this year after its funds were battered by steep falls in financial stocks. The activist fund saw assets under management fall to around $14bn at the end of July, down from $20m last year [...]
Bumper profits at GDF-Suez September 2, 2008 The newly-formed French energy giant GDF Suez yesterday heralded the start of a “beautiful industrial adventure”, announcing that net profit had soared by 14 per cent. Rising energy demand and rocketing oil prices helped the powerhouse report bumper first-half profits of €3.4bn (£2.76bn), after it was created following the merger of France’s state owned Gaz [...]
Demand for UK equities is at its lowest for six years September 2, 2008 Demand for UK equities is set to fall to just £17bn this year, down from £68bn last year, its lowest level in six years a leading investment bank warned yesterday. Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley blamed plunging merger and acquisition activity levels, and a dwindling number of dividend pay outs and share buybacks for its prediction [...]
