Banned August 11, 2011 EURO SHORT SELLING OFF AFTER MARKET MAYHEM FOUR key Eurozone nations are to ban short selling of financial stocks for at least 15 days in a bid to halt the turmoil engulfing markets. Europe’s financial markets watchdog said France, Italy, Belgium and Spain would impose the ban from today to combat the volatility hitting banks [...]
Osborne: I will stick to Plan A August 11, 2011 GEORGE Osborne, the chancellor, yesterday insisted he had an “utterly unwavering commitment” to cutting Britain’s gaping £130bn deficit and dismissed calls to adopt a Plan B in the face of global economic turmoil. The chancellor contrasted Britain’s borrowing costs to those for countries such as Greece and Spain and argued that the yield on gilts, which has [...]
Swiss ponder a peg to euro August 11, 2011 THE EURO pared recent losses against the Swiss franc yesterday, after a senior Swiss central bank official hinted that its currency could be pegged to the euro to prevent further appreciation. Investors have ploughed into the Swiss franc this week, viewing the currency as a relative safe haven while the debt crisis takes it toll [...]
Best to keep hold of those hard hats August 11, 2011 Hang on to those hard hats for a little bit longer. To the relief of all concerned in the financial markets, yesterday saw stocks rally in most parts of the world. But these are anything but safe times. In Europe rumours of some form of ban on short-selling, confirmed late last night, lifted stocks. Such [...]
Italy sets out its reforms August 11, 2011 ITALY’S government said it was planning sweeping reforms to balance its budget and stimulate growth yesterday as it fights to convince markets it can manage its huge national debt. Finance minister Giulio Tremonti named changes such as raising Italy’s capital gains tax from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent, selling off state assets and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LI & FUNG UPBEAT OVER THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Li & Fung, the Hong Kong-headquartered sourcing company for retailers such as Walmart and Debenhams, sounded an upbeat note on Thursday, asserting that business conditions were “not at all” like those in 2008”, despite the current uncertainty over prospects for the global economy. Bruce Rockowitz, [...]
Standard Bank returns to SA August 11, 2011 South Africa’s biggest bank Standard Bank said it would move its international headquarters from London to Johannesburg yesterday as it reported an 11 per cent rise in earnings in the first half of the year, to 6.5bn rand (£558m). Standard Bank said the move would save it $75m per year to manage its non-African business. [...]
Londoners’ commute gets worse August 11, 2011 Commutes by rail into London are getting worse, according to figures released yesterday by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). Overall crowding – when there are more passengers than “planned capacity” – jumped from 2.2 per cent in 2009 to three per cent in 2010, the data showed. The highest level of crowding was seen [...]
Cameron says police were far too slow to respond during riots August 11, 2011 PRIME MINISTER David Cameron yesterday said there were “far too few” police on the streets during the UK riots, as he faced MPs for the first time since the violence that swept across the country earlier this week. Speaking to the House of Commons during the emergency recall of Parliament yesterday, Cameron praised the police [...]
Businesses cheer tax relief scheme August 11, 2011 BUSINESS groups yesterday welcomed the government’s plans to support retailers affected by the UK riots, after a programme of tax relief and cash grants was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday. As part of the rescue package, riot-hit businesses will be given relief from business rates and allowed to delay tax payments. They will [...]
