Messi favourite to land hat-trick December 6, 2011 FOOTBALL: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is the overwhelming favourite to win the prestigious Fifa Ballon d’Or award for the third year in a row after the three-man shortlist was announced yesterday. The 24-year-old Argentine, who scored a staggering 53 goals in all competitions last season, is joined by his Barcelona team-mate Xavi and Real Madrid’s [...]
RATING AGENCY DROPS EUROZONE BOMBSHELL December 6, 2011 RATINGS agency Standard & Poors (S&P) wrecked a mood of growing optimism about the Eurozone debt crisis last night by warning that 15 of the region’s 17 countries face credit downgrades if politicians do not get a grip. Less than a month after the EU threatened a crackdown on ratings agencies, S&P blasted Brussels’ “defensive [...]
Merkozy deal on spending December 6, 2011 PROFLIGATE governments will be punished by other euro states under tough new rules unveiled by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday. But the Eurozone’s bailout fund will not have the power to negotiate haircuts with private-sector bondholders and overspending states will not be hauled in front of the EU courts, previous [...]
At a glance: The latest euro rescue plan December 6, 2011 ● Enforced balanced budgets Governments will be forced to keep budget deficits below three per cent of GDP each year. Real fiscal restraint may give ECB boss Mario Draghi the confidence to loosen policy and to start printing money, presumably the deal’s secret objective. ● “Automatic” punishments Previously, budgetary offenders were only punished if a [...]
S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
Monti unveils save Italy plan December 6, 2011 ITALIAN Prime Minister and finance minister Mario Monti unveiled a “save Italy” plan in Rome’s parliament yesterday, warning that failure to adopt it would see the country go down the same path as Greece. The lion’s share of the budget cuts will come from an unpopular €10bn (£8.56bn) property tax. Tariffs on private jets, yachts and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 6, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BOURSES VIE FOR TIE-UP WITH KAZAKH EXCHANGE The London Stock Exchange and Russia’s two main exchanges are vying to secure a strategic partnership with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange as the bourse becomes the latest play on the central Asian country’s huge natural resources. The manoeuvring comes as the Kazakh exchange is preparing for [...]
ABI: dividend should come before bonus December 6, 2011 A MAJOR shareholder group has slammed banks for letting executive pay get out of sync with results, in a sign of growing investor activism over the hot button issue of banker bonuses. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose members own some 15 per cent of FTSE 100 stock, has sent a letter to the [...]
Barclays makes £2.5bn offer for its debt to boost capital December 6, 2011 BARCLAYS has made a £2.5bn offer to buy back its debt in order to bolster its capital levels. If taken up by holders of the bank’s bonds, the move could book Barclays a profit and reduce the amount of its debt that is non-compliant with new Basel III capital rules. The bank is offering a [...]
Services sector in the UK grows as euro countries slump further December 6, 2011 THE UK’s services sector registered increasing output growth in November, with its PMI rising from 51.3 to 52.1. However, employment is believed to have fallen by several thousand as the picture for new orders remained weak. In the US, services growth declined slightly by remained “modest,” falling from 52.9 to 52.0 in November, defying the European [...]
