FTSE ends flat as S&P eyes Eurozone rating downgrades December 6, 2011 THE UK’s top share index ended flat yesterday, with banks and retailers falling and sentiment hurt as credit agency Standard & Poor’s warned of a possible downgrade to most Eurozone countries. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.76 points or 0.01 per cent at 5,568.72 following a see-saw session, having closed at [...]
US stock lift shows hope for debt plan December 6, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday as investors bet European leaders would take strong steps this week to end the region’s debt crisis, including bolstering its financial rescue fund. The latest source of optimism came from a Financial Times report that European leaders will discuss boosting the firepower of the Eurozone’s rescue fund at the summit. The [...]
With a glass and a half full of pride, Cadbury is looking to raise its game December 6, 2011 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 233 DAYS TO GO One of the nation’s favourite brands has new owners but it is still the official treat provider for 2012 Q. What was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the Games? A. I was brought in after the decision had been taken, but [...]
History reveals breaking up a currency union isn’t hard to do – but you must be fast December 6, 2011 WHAT happens when a country changes its currency, either by creating a new one to replace the existing one or when it leaves a monetary union? A good starting point is New Zealand’s switch from sterling to the NZ dollar at the end of the 1960s. That was a simple matter of redenomination and printing [...]
Why the CBI was wrong to attack EC audit reforms December 6, 2011 AUDITING is at a crossroads. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, the Office of Fair Trading, the European Commission, the US audit regulator (PCAOB) and investors all have substantial concerns about the listed company audit model. John Cridland of the CBI outlined the case for resisting the EC’s new proposals in these pages last [...]
Spending your money like a sex-crazed ape December 6, 2011 I ONCE saw a documentary about the extraordinary sexual appetite of the bonobo ape. This gave me an idea for an anti-impotence drug. I plan to isolate the genes in bonobos that account for their virility, pack them into some kind of a pill and sell them off by the truckload. The idea is at [...]
RAPID RESPONSES December 6, 2011 Tax and the City Congratulations to City A.M. for raising the issue of the threat to the City by intrusive and unnecessary EU regulation [Calls for PM to protect the City, Monday]. As a London MEP I am fighting in the European Parliament to protect my constituents’ jobs and to preserve the City’s status as [...]
S&P move would make EU stability history December 6, 2011 WITH member states coming to the grim realisation that if the Eurozone situation gets any worse they are going to be inflicted with Bob Geldof staging a charity concert for it, the S&P ratings agency drew that nightmare one step closer. I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS On Monday, the ratings agency put the bulk of the [...]
THE MULTIPLE SCHEMES TO DEFEND EURO December 6, 2011 AS THE European leaders meet for their summit tomorrow, currency traders will have only one question on their mind – can the Eurozone move towards greater fiscal integration? The European sovereign debt markets have become nothing more than a game of chipping away at the weakest link. As soon as officials cobble together a bailout [...]
THE TIPSTER December 6, 2011 THE rebound in Aussie dollar-dollar from the lows of the end of November has seen it rally over 600 pips, but has ran in to resistance at $1.0300. Support though is being offered by the former support/resistance lines going back over 12 months through $1.0200 so it is now trading in a very tight range, [...]
