HOW THE BANK LEVY WILL WORK October 21, 2010 Q.WHAT LEVEL IS THE LEVY BEING SET AT? A.The government gave no details on the rate at which the levy will be set. When it first unveiled plans in June, it said the initial rate would be 0.04 per cent rising to 0.07 per cent in 2012-13. However, many analysts think that rate is too [...]
No alternative to deep cuts, insists Osborne October 21, 2010 GEORGE Osborne yesterday insisted he would not shy away from making the biggest spending cuts since 1976, even if the economic recovery hits the skids. The chancellor gave yet another strong hint that a further round of quantitative easing, rather than a slower pace of fiscal consolidation, would be the best tool to boost a [...]
Credit Suisse profits latest to be felled by trading fall October 21, 2010 Swiss institution is the latest bulge bracket bank to report a decline in investment banking revenues A SLUMP in investment revenues yesterday passed over from the US banks to Credit Suisse, as the Swiss bank said group income had slumped by 62 per cent over the third quarter of the year. Credit Suisse said net [...]
Trading problems are partly seasonal, but structural issues are at stake too, as one of Switzerland’s big banks is finding October 21, 2010 JUST weeks after a dire prediction by bank analyst Meredith Whitney that 80,000 jobs are set to go on Wall Street within two years, Credit Suisse has followed the US giants in demonstrating just how hard the investment banking climate really is. Third quarter earnings have so far been characterised by solid retail and private [...]
Green stealth tax bombshell stuns business October 21, 2010 BUSINESS leaders were left stunned by what they called a green “stealth tax” following news by the government on Wednesday that it would keep the revenue raised from the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) rather than recycle cash raised back into scheme. Richard Lambert, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), attacked the proposals saying: [...]
China’s GDP growth starts to slow down October 21, 2010 China’s growth ebbed in the third quarter while inflation edged higher, suggesting that the world’s second-largest economy was far from overheating and that an interest rate rise this week may be enough for now. Economic growth dipped to 9.6 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, down from 10.3 per cent in [...]
Glaxo is hit with a subpoena in the US October 21, 2010 GlaxoSmithKline yesterday admitted it has received a subpoena from the US government over its controversial Avandia diabetes drug. The drugmaker has already taken a charge of £147m on the treatment after it was linked to increased risk of heart attacks. European regulators suspended it and severe restrictions were placed on its sale in the US. [...]
US jobs data adds to likelihood of QE October 21, 2010 NEW claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, but not enough to suggest much improvement in the distressed labour market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 452,000, the Labour Department said yesterday. Analysts had expected a drop to 455,000. Despite the fall, which also saw the unwinding [...]
CITY INSURANCE BROKERS TAKE TO THE RING AT EAST END FIGHT NIGHT October 21, 2010 PERHAPS it’s a sign of the times, but white collar boxing – City boys (and sometimes girls) swapping their suits for silk shorts and beating the living daylights out of each other – is becoming ever more popular among financial sector workers. With that in mind, it’s perhaps not so surprising that a sweating, heaving [...]
Danone sours views despite sales jump October 21, 2010 FRENCH food group Danone warned yesterday the economic landscape would continue to hit sales in Europe, as it posted a 15 per cent growth in third-quarter revenue to €4.35bn (£3.86bn) after strong dairy sales in emerging markets. The world’s biggest yoghurt maker maintained its full-year targets after offsetting a 2.1 per cent like-for-like sales growth [...]
