Nokia’s shares plunge after profit warning April 11, 2012 SHARES IN NOKIA were sent into a tailspin yesterday, falling to their lowest level since 1997, after the Finnish phone maker warned that it would post losses in the first two quarters of this year. The company expects to make an operating loss of around three per cent of sales in the first quarter, which [...]
Rajoy calls for recognition of Spain’s reform April 11, 2012 SPANISH Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hit out at French and Italian ministers yesterday for talking down the economy, as new data revealed the depths of the country’s recession. “Spain’s future is at stake,” Rajoy said after Tuesday’s market turmoil, explaining: “The problem is that the markets can lend or decide not to.” Official figures yesterday [...]
Now investors shun bunds as IMF warns of safe haven danger April 11, 2012 GERMANY failed to sell its full allotment of bonds in an auction yesterday, as Italy’s borrowing costs jumped on renewed panic in the financial markets. The poor sales came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned investors are running out of safe havens for their cash, risking increased financial instability. Germany only managed to raise [...]
Euro banker leaves door open for even more bond purchases April 11, 2012 THE European Central Bank still has its bond-buying programme as an option to ease pressure on faltering euro member states, ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure said yesterday. Coeure, the ECB board member in charge of market operations, said the central bank still had the Securities Market Programme in place allowing it to purchase debt [...]
Gold seen hitting $2,000 on euro panic and US inflation April 11, 2012 PANIC over the ongoing Eurozone crisis could push gold over the $2,000 mark in the next year, a leading metals consultancy warned yesterday. Investors worried about investing in equities or bonds, or concerned about rising inflation, may put cash into assets like gold and silver to keep their money safe. After rising for four days [...]
Baroin: France must hit target or risk a crisis April 11, 2012 SCALING back plans to balance France’s budget by 2016 would risk a market backlash, its finance minister said yesterday, taking aim at the opposition Socialists’ economic programme as a presidential election nears. Unveiling multi-year spending forecasts, President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative government confirmed it aimed to cut the public deficit to an EU-imposed limit of three [...]
Euribor hits a 21-month low as ECB’s cash floods the markets April 11, 2012 KEY Eurozone bank-to-bank lending rates hit new 21-month lows yesterday, dragged down by the enormous volume of cash the European Central Bank (ECB) has pumped into financial markets since late last year. The three-month euro interbank offered rate (Euribor), an estimate of lenders’ borrowing costs, dropped by six basis points to 0.7 per cent – [...]
GREEKS TO GO TO THE POLLS NEXT MONTH April 11, 2012 GREECE will call a snap election for the 6 May, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said yesterday as he formally resigned from his role. A new government is set to be in place by 17 May, with hopes for a smooth handover to allow the country’s international bailout plan that staved off bankruptcy to continue.
IMF warns UK pension costs set to double April 11, 2012 THE UK faces a pensions time bomb, with expected increases in life expectancy set to put huge pressure on retirement costs, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF warned that the ballooning expense, which could double in the next forty years, could threaten the UK’s financial stability. Between 2010 and 2050, the cost [...]
A Spice Girls revival is more likely than a Nokia one April 11, 2012 CAST your mind back to 1997. Tony Blair’s New Labour had won a landslide election, Britannia was cool and Channel 5 was going to save the television industry. For some, it is a Spice Girls song that best evokes the era or, for those with better taste, a Radiohead tune. For me, it has to [...]
