Debt to pass 100pc of GDP July 13, 2011 A POPULATION time-bomb will see UK national debt total more than 100 per cent of GDP if future governments do not go beyond current efforts to eliminate the annual deficit. Despite the national debt being expected to drop to around 60 per cent of GDP by the mid-2020s, it could hit 107 per cent by [...]
The real bombshell that will hit us all July 13, 2011 TOMORROW evening, a bombshell will hit the economy. No, I’m not referring to the latest explosion to rock Rupert Murdoch’s empire; that story, while a fascinating tale which could permanently change the face of UK politics and media, doesn’t threaten to plunge the world back into crisis. The real flashpoint will be the release of [...]
BP plans North Sea field July 13, 2011 OIL major BP yesterday said it planned to launch a £3bn development of a North Sea field, despite the government’s decision to raid the profits of firms’ operating in the waters. As part of one of the biggest investments in the North Sea in the last 10 years, BP said it would install a new floating [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG IN PENSION VICTORY Britain’s Pensions Regulator has dropped the threat of action against US-based Chemtura Corp and its UK subsidiary, after the company agreed to pay £60m into its pension scheme over the next three years. In December 2010, the regulator issued a formal warning to Chemtura Corp and Chemtura Manufacturing UK that [...]
Capital One profit up 50 per cent July 13, 2011 Capital One Financial said yesterday its second-quarter profit jumped 50 per cent as fewer customers defaulted on credit cards, a sign consumer loans might be a bright spot for other major banks. Capital One also raised $2bn through a stock offering yesterday, selling 40m shares at $50.87 each. The bank had said the issue would [...]
Chinese growth slows slightly July 13, 2011 China’s annual GDP growth eased to 9.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 from 9.7 per cent in the previous quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. But the growth rate was stronger than market expectations of 9.4 per cent. China’s GDP in April-June was up 2.2 per cent from the first [...]
EU dithering could bring on Armageddon July 13, 2011 GREECE is running out of time, its Prime Minister warned yesterday, even as Germany batted off suggestions that it should attend an emergency summit on Friday and instead put off the meeting until next week. The markets were unimpressed by this latest bout of dithering over the timing of the Eurozone’s next crisis talks, with [...]
German lender pulls out of EU bank stress tests as results loom July 13, 2011 GERMAN public sector bank Helaba said last night that it would not allow the European Banking Authority (EBA) to publish the results of stress tests on the bank, withdrawing from the process and potentially setting a precedent for other lenders to do the same. Helaba had earlier said that it would have passed tests if regulators [...]
Ringfence plan slammed in ICB feedback July 13, 2011 PROPOSALS for a ringfence around the retail arm of Britain’s major lenders have been slammed as costly and damaging to Britain’s competitiveness by banks in their feedback submitted to the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB). The responses to the ICB’s interim report, published yesterday, show that even some banks that would be little-affected have serious [...]
BRIT HOPEFULS PREPARE FOr ULTIMATE OPEN TEST July 13, 2011 • Strong winds may see tees brought forward • Winner must favour brain over muscle HOPES of a first British winner of The Open since 1999 will be tested to the limit not only by a stellar international field but also by the elements which threaten to turn Royal St George’s into a place not [...]