ALL BAR NONE: US CARD SHARP’S CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA TAKES GOLD June 27, 2011 THERE are nights out… and then there are nights out – and in case you need help making the distinction, there are worse people to ask than professional gambler Don Johnson, who blew £120,000 on the most expensive bottle of champagne ever sold in London at the OneForOne Club on Sunday. Don’t let the fact [...]
Betfair chief to quit after ten year stint June 27, 2011 THE BOSS of Betfair has said he will not renew his contract, kicking off a search for a new chief executive at the world’s largest betting exchange. David Yu (pictured) has been in charge of the online bookmaker for six years, after first joining the firm ten years ago. He has told the board he [...]
Opec’s top official urges IEA to halt its oil release June 27, 2011 THE International Energy Agency (IEA) order to release emergency oil stocks should be halted immediately, Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ secretary general said yesterday at the end of cooperation talks with the EU. Years of producer-consumer harmony have come under threat after the IEA last week ordered the release of 60m barrels of oil [...]
HSBC to merge Saudi business with competitor June 27, 2011 HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, will merge its Saudi Arabian wholesale and investment banking business with Saudi British Bank’s SABB Securities, it said yesterday. SABB would own 51 per cent of the new entity, to be known as HSBC Saudi Arabia, but HSBC would retain full management control, HSBC said in a statement posted on the [...]
OECD predicts more shocks to economy June 27, 2011 SHOCKS to the world economy will become more frequent as the pace of globalisation quickens, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned yesterday. More interconnected economies mean that one-off events will cause price shocks to be felt throughout the world, the OECD said. The Paris-based group cited Russian fires and export bans last [...]
US consumer spending declines June 27, 2011 American consumer spending was flat in May, breaking a string of 10 straight months of gains, as households struggled with rising prices. Spending slipped 0.1 per cent in the month, when adjusted for inflation, the commerce department revealed yesterday. Meanwhile the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), a measure of inflation, jumped 0.3 per cent, [...]
Texan factory activity slows June 27, 2011 Manufacturing activity has slowed down dramatically in Texas this month, official data showed yesterday. The Dallas Fed index slumped to 5.6 from 12.7, reflecting a marked slowdown in growth.
UK business morale springs back June 27, 2011 Business confidence has surged back up this month from a dip in May, a survey by Lloyds Banking Group revealed yesterday. Sentiment among UK companies jumped to its highest level since May 2010. Only 15 per cent of respondents said they were less optimistic about economic prospects than three months ago – down from 31 [...]
Posen dismisses stagflation risk June 27, 2011 The UK’s situation is more similar to the 1930s than the 1970s, with little danger of “stagflation”, the Bank of England’s uber-dove Adam Posen said yesterday. The Bank of England has no reason to raise interest rates, as credit and wage growth are slow, said Posen, who has voted for more quantitative easing.
FED OFFICIAL: TAX SYSTEM ENCOURAGES DEBT June 27, 2011 THE US tax code is guilty of incentivising excessive mortgage borrowing for individuals and debt leverage at corporations, senior Federal Reserve official Narayana Kocherlakota said yesterday. The sudden drop in US land prices may not have set off the recent financial crisis had households and business not been weighed down with so much debt, he [...]
