Activity drops as euro area’s slump deepens April 23, 2012 JOBS and output are falling across the Eurozone, survey data showed yesterday, with even the relatively healthy German economy shedding workers. Consumer confidence plummeted to a record low in Italy, France’s business climate deteriorated further and Spain’s central bank announced a further 0.4 per cent fall in GDP in the first quarter, painting a very [...]
Spain looks to a bad bank to clean up sector April 23, 2012 THE SPANISH government will force banks to move all their real estate assets into a special holding company within weeks, in a bid to reassure investors the lenders won’t need a further rescue, it emerged yesterday. The real estate holding entity should be up and running by the summer, but the final form and details [...]
Dutch government falls as row over cuts tears coalition apart April 23, 2012 EUROPE’S debt crisis toppled its latest government yesterday, and another teetered on the brink, as coalitions in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic tore themselves apart in deficit reduction negotiations. The scale of the challenge was further underlined by new EU data which showed a total deficit of 4.1 per cent of GDP for the [...]
French presidential election hits markets as yield spread widens April 23, 2012 NERVOUS investors weighed down on markets yesterday, after socialist Francois Hollande won the first round of voting in the French presidential election. Hollande has been an outspoken critic of austerity measures in the Eurozone and last week tweeted in support of a “fight against finance”. In Paris the CAC 40 index tumbled throughout the day, [...]
European Union splashes €2.6bn on quangos, claims new report April 23, 2012 EUROPEAN Union quangos have seen their budgets soar by a third in the last two years, according to figures released yesterday. Despite preaching austerity to its member states, Brussels’ own spending on quangos now totals €2.64bn (£2.17bn) – 33.2 per cent higher than in 2010. There are now 52 EU-funded quasi-autonomous agencies, twice as many [...]
Poll shows Labour voters are still willing to back Johnson April 23, 2012 LONDONERS increasingly prefer Labour – but many are still willing to make an exception for Conservative mayoral candidate Boris Johnson, according to the latest YouGov poll. It shows Labour enjoy a crushing lead of 50 to 31 in Westminster voting intentions amongst the capital’s residents. But when asked for their mayoral voting intention this transforms [...]
Election will go to the wire as Ken closes gap April 23, 2012 KEN Livingstone yesterday blew the race for Mayor of London wide open after a YouGov poll put him just two percentage points behind his Conservative rival. Boris Johnson now leads the race by just 51 to 49 per cent, with ten days to go until election day. Previous polls had consistently given Johnson a six point [...]
Boris takes fight to heart of City April 23, 2012 PORT drinkers raised their glasses, a knight was converted and one supporter suggested the Mayor should join in with some “Boris Dancing” – it’s hard to imagine a more welcoming environment for the Conservative candidate than Leadenhall Market’s St George’s Day celebrations. Yesterday Johnson was cheered by City crowds as he gave a stump speech [...]
WHO WILL GET YOUR VOTE? INTERVIEWS BY CLARE HILL April 23, 2012 GORDON BOTTEN RELIANCE I’ll be voting Boris – I just think he’s got a lot more to offer than Ken. He’s spent a lot of money, but I think that we can see an improvement on public transport. JERRY PRINGLE MILES SMITH Boris’s sense of humour is just the best, and that’s what we are, [...]
Macquarie fear over India tax April 23, 2012 ● Macquarie’s Asia hedge fund has exited its short positions in Indian single stock futures in response to a controversial set of proposed tax rules that could lower investment returns. Instead, it has decided to use a futures contract linked to India’s 50-share NSE index (Nifty) on the Singapore Exchange to get its short exposure [...]
