Glencore boost as Glasenberg buys shares June 7, 2012 GLENCORE chief Ivan Glasenberg has splurged £10m on 2.9m shares in his FTSE 100 company as part of his promise to spend all of his $110m in dividends on stock. His move is intended to shore up shareholder support ahead of the commodities trader’s proposed merger with Xstrata, which has sparked anger among some investors who say [...]
Supplier saves 4,500 jobs at Clinton Cards June 7, 2012 THE REMAINS of the high street chain Clinton Cards were bought out of administration yesterday by an American cards company, in a deal expected to safeguard 4,500 jobs. Administrator Zolfo Cooper confirmed yesterday that American Greetings, one of Clinton’s biggest suppliers, had paid $37m (£24m) to buy the ailing retailer’s brand and assets including 397 [...]
FSA approvals taking longer as split looms June 7, 2012 NEW businesses face a longer wait to gain approval from the City regulator, according to new research. Firms waited an average of 19.6 weeks in the first three months of this year, according to Financial Services Authority data obtained by law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. The 13.2 per cent jump, the third consecutive quarterly rise, [...]
Merkel vows action to end crisis at long last June 7, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was ready to act to ensure stability in the Eurozone, yesterday, while Prime Minister David Cameron called for “urgent action” to tackle the debt crisis. However, she did not call for jointly-guaranteed eurobonds – instruments which Italian PM Mario Monti again called for as his favoured solution to the [...]
Unemployment hits new record high in devastated Greece June 7, 2012 YOUTH unemployment hit a new record high in Greece in March, while France also saw a surprise jump in joblessness. Well over half of Greece’s under-25s are now unemployed, according to official agency Elstat – 52.8 per cent were jobless in March, up from 42 per cent in March 2011 and more than double the [...]
Fitch: EU too big to fail rules will erode bank credit ratings June 7, 2012 EU PROPOSALS to avoid bank bailouts in future are already feeding through into credit calculations, prompting ratings agency Fitch to announce yesterday that they will “weaken state support in the long term”. That is likely to mean a round of credit downgrades for European banks and an increase in the cost of their debt. On [...]
Germany closer to Tobin tax deal June 7, 2012 GERMANY has moved a step closer to finalising its position on a European Tobin tax after the centre-right governing coalition and opposition parties said they had reached a deal. The agreement would see Germany’s opposition vote in favour of the Eurozone “fiscal pact” in return for Chancellor Angela Merkel pushing for the imposition of a [...]
Swiss central bank spends billions on cap June 7, 2012 THE SWISS National Bank’s (SNB) foreign currency holdings hit record levels in May, the central bank revealed yesterday, as it fights to maintain the franc’s cap – a struggle made more difficult every time the Eurozone crisis flares up. The SNB said its reserves now stand at 303.8bn Swiss f rancs (£204.7bn), up roughly one [...]
EXTREMIST POLITICAL PUNCH-UP IN ATHENS June 7, 2012 THE SPOKESMAN of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party, Ilias Kasidiaris, slapped one female communist in the face and threw a glass of water at another leftist during a live TV debate yesterday, causing a political uproar and an order for his arrest. Other political parties condemned the assault ahead of the 17 June parliamentary election.
Solid services growth as Bank holds on rates June 7, 2012 HOPES for a renewed economic recovery were bolstered yesterday as influential survey data pointed to robust growth in the service sector last month – the largest part of the British economy. The figures came as the Bank of England surprised economists by resisting pressure to print more money, keeping interest rates and its quantitative easing [...]
