Chinese central bank vows to keep interest rates stable during 2010 August 1, 2010 CHINA will stick to a relatively loose monetary stance in the second half of this year, with an emphasis on implementing policy flexibly, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said yesterday. In a statement on its website, the central bank said it would combine its various policy tools, including open market operations and required reserves, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 1, 2010 Association of British Insurers Alain Dromer will join the ABI’s investment committee as chairman on 15 September. Dromer, who is currently chief executive of Aviva Investors, takes over the position from Keith Skeoch, who has spent three years in office. Dromer has also spent time as head of global investment at HSBC, head of insurance [...]
Coalition must up green tax breaks August 1, 2010 A City accountancy firm has rounded on the coalition government for not doing enough to tackle climate change via generous green tax relief measures. UHY Hacker Young says this morning that green tax breaks for businesses currently make up a tiny 3.5 per cent proportion of the amount raised by the government in green taxes [...]
A CURIOUS PAST LIES BEHIND THE FSA’S CITY BONUS CRACKDOWN August 1, 2010 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) was talking tough last week with plans to adopt EU rules that regulate bonuses at financial institutions. The rules include measures to ensure that 40 per cent of bonuses are paid over three years and that half of these deferred payments are non-cash. This attempt to reform City bonuses is [...]
BILL OF THE WEEK August 1, 2010 SIX City music aficionados visited Island Restaurant & Bar for dinner before strolling across Hyde Park to enjoy a night at the BBC Proms last week. Of course, this classy group knew that the right way to enjoy their musical feast was with a culinary version beforehand. They prepared well for the concert, sipping their [...]
Dow strength set to bolster European markets August 1, 2010 A BOUNCE in US stocks after the European close on Friday is set to propel the FTSE higher on the open this morning. GFT is calling the FTSE 100 to open up 32 points at 5,290. The German DAX 40 is quoted up 41 points at 6,188 and the French CAC 40 is expected to [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD August 1, 2010 US STOCKS are unlikely to break above a key technical level this week unless monthly jobs data and consumer company results paint a more promising picture of the recovery. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has been stuck near its 200-day moving average, a level used to determine market direction, amid recent weak economic data [...]
New wave of M&A has profit potential for spread betters August 1, 2010 IT HAS been a veritable whirlwind of good old-fashioned company matchmaking of late and especially so here in Britain, thanks to the sharp depreciation in sterling. In May, UK manufacturer Chloride was snapped up by its American rival Emerson. More recently, International Power revived merger talks with French energy firm GDF Suez, household goods group [...]
Seek undervalued quality August 1, 2010 WHICHEVER way you look at it, the Eurozone is not going to enjoy rampant economic growth in the years to come. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) only estimates GDP growth of around 1.8 per cent in both 2012 and 2013, hardly a storming pace of expansion. And the financial markets have been quick to price [...]
THE TIPSTER August 1, 2010 THE UK earnings season is still in full flow and a number of major companies are reporting results this week. One of the big names reporting today is City firm Tullett Prebon – will their figures bring some impetus to the share price? Even though the shares are up 21 per cent so far this [...]
