FTSE underpinned by hope for ECB stimulus July 30, 2012 STRENGTH in risk-sensitive energy, miners and banking stocks propelled Britain’s top share index back up to touch the 5,700 level yesterday, fuelled by hopes central banks could launch fresh measures this week to stem the global economic slowdown. Recent comments from European policymakers vowing to take all steps to tackle the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, [...]
US stocks finish flat as investors await data July 30, 2012 US stocks finished mostly flat yesterday as investors paused following the best two-day run this year, with central bank meetings and a full load of US economic data looming. Traders have bet that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank will suggest further action to stimulate their economies is on the way when each [...]
FUND MANAGER OF THE YEAR July 30, 2012 Our fund manager of the year award, sponsored by S&P Capital IQ, will go to a company or individual who has demonstrated strong performance or has taken a headline-grabbing stance during a high-profile corporate issue. Well-judged deals against a complex economic backdrop, a commitment to shareholder activism or a canny ability to weather the near-constant [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR July 30, 2012 TODAY’S shorlists for City A.M.’s third annual awards present our pick of the best rising stars and fund managers in the Square Mile. Even in economically straitened times, there are plenty of young men and women in the City on the rise, as shown in the Rising Star category. From entrepreneurs and private equity experts [...]
Our decisive central bank has been neutered by regulatory confusion July 30, 2012 THE TREASURY Select Committee has rightly questioned the arbitrary powers of regulators, particularly the Bank of England, over the boards and senior executives of private firms in the financial sector. Despite the mistakes of our cartelised banks, it’s unwise to assume that regulators can run businesses better than boards. Moreover, trends over the last 12 [...]
Enjoying the Olympics and criticising their cost are two separate debates July 30, 2012 WHEN I was at school, I never really liked sports day. I found the attempts to invent rivalries based on random teams silly, and never found an event at which I excelled. I’d have preferred to be at home. The consolation was that we weren’t in lessons, so I did my best to enjoy the [...]
Assad’s brutality won’t be enough to save his regime July 30, 2012 SYRIA’S ongoing civil war is now entering a decisive phase. Bloody battles, street by street, alley by alley, are raging for the two key cities of Damascus and Aleppo. The regime of the Syrian President Bashar al Assad appears to be expending every last ounce of effort to maintain its hold over urban centres. Fast [...]
Can the payday loan industry be trusted to protect consumers from excessive charges? July 30, 2012 YES Richard Griffiths Despite all the negative media commentary, responsible payday lenders work hard to provide customers with an excellent service, resulting in extraordinarily high satisfaction ratings. The industry isn’t perfect and does have a poor reputation. But the four main associations representing payday and short-term lenders have launched a new customer charter, setting out [...]
RAPID RESPONSES July 30, 2012 Olympic reactions [Re: Olympics are a great success, but won’t solve economic crisis, yesterday] The Games so far have been a triumph. Pre-event grumbling was just a classic example of a British tendency to play down expectations. As you write, however, we will have to wake up. The much-vaunted legacy must materialise, even if solely [...]
Prices are the only thing growing as crops feel the heat July 30, 2012 WHILE the UK has spent most of 2012 soaked to the bone, wondering when summer was going to gift us some rays of sunshine, on the other side of the Atlantic – specifically the key growing region in the US Midwest corn belt – they have been experiencing quite the opposite. Wiltingly hot temperatures in [...]
