Spain deficit may exceed 8pc – official January 2, 2012 SPAIN’S economy minister admitted yesterday that the government’s deficit for last year could be higher than the eight per cent of GDP previously forecast. “We’ll need to see, but it’s possible that we have gone over the eight per cent mark,” Luis de Guindos said. “Though [we] expect that it hasn’t done so by much,” [...]
Manufacturing decline slows in Eurozone January 2, 2012 Netherlands 46.2 2-month high ▲ France 48.9 4-month high ▲ Italy 44.3 3-month high ▲ Germany 48.4 2-month high ▲ Austria 49 4-month high ▲ Spain 43.7 3-month low ▼ Greece 42.0 3-month high ▲
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 2, 2012 The Daily Telegraph PWC GETS A RECORD NUMBER OF APPLICANTS FOR GRADUATE SCHEME PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is on track to receive a record 30,000 applications for its graduate entry scheme in the latest indicator of the strains in the British labour market. The firm’s graduate scheme – which has 1,200 places – has been inundated with [...]
ECB criticised for bank loans January 2, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank has crossed the line into propping up insolvent banks, according to a former member of its governing council, Nout Wellink (pictured). The one-time governor of Holland’s Central Bank told a Dutch magazine that the decision to extend three-year loans to banks is a shift from boosting liquidity, which is in the [...]
Denmark now seen as debt safe haven January 2, 2012 DENMARK has revealed that it saw a surge in demand for its debt from international investors last year, making it the latest non-Eurozone state to cash in on the hunt for a “safe haven”. The Danish central bank said that over a third of the country’s outstanding debt is now owned by foreign buyers, up [...]
Greece charges finance official January 2, 2012 A TOP Greek finance ministry official was charged yesterday with failing to collect fines imposed on firms for smuggling, court officials said, in the second case to embarrass the debt-ridden government in under a week. Greece has promised its international creditors it will tackle widespread corruption. Yannis Kapeleris, a secretary general who was handling the [...]
Commuters return to hike in train prices January 2, 2012 COMMUTERS returning to work today have been hit by yet another hike in rail fares, after the average ticket price rose by 5.9 per cent with the new year, sending season tickets rocketing. The increases will see the average single ticket rise from £5 to £5.30, and season passes for some popular commuter routes rise [...]
FSA gets tough with £66m in fines last year January 2, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) imposed over £66m in fines last year, including a retail fine for a whopping £10.5m imposed on HSBC for mis-selling investment bonds to elderly customers. The watchdog also showed its muscle by ordering large financial groups to pay more than £160m in compensation to customers – a huge rise from [...]
PM in attack on City pay January 2, 2012 DAVID Cameron has kicked off the new year with another attack on high-earners, promising “bold” action to “tackle excess in the City”. In a message focused on how Britain can become “stronger”, the Prime Minister suggested that highly paid executives are as much of a blight on society as those languishing on taxpayer-funded benefits. “While [...]
Tories slam Labour NHS spending January 2, 2012 THE CONSERVATIVES have renewed their attack on Labour’s handling of the NHS by claiming management costs rose twice as fast as spending on mental illness during the previous government’s time in office. Spending on managers and senior managers rose 450 per cent over 13 years to hit £1.04bn in 2009-10, compared to a 191 per [...]
