OECD sees signs of fresh slump September 13, 2010 A SLOWDOWN in economic growth in the world’s developed countries looks increasingly likely, a leading think-tank said yesterday, highlighting signs the recovery may now have peaked in the United States, Japan and Brazil. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday that its July composite leading indicator for the 32-nation OECD area fell [...]
IMF says new jobs essential September 13, 2010 THE world’s rich countries need to extend fiscal stimulus and job growth initiatives to fix a “dire” labour market that could threaten entire societies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. At a conference co-hosted by the IMF and the International Labour Organisation, visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero said high unemployment may [...]
Eurozone GDP set to rise September 13, 2010 The Eurozone economy is likely to grow almost twice as fast this year as previously thought and is now on solid ground, the European Commission said yesterday. In its twice-yearly interim economic forecasts for the 27-nation EU and the 16 countries using the single currency, the EU executive said it now expected the Eurozone to [...]
KPMG sells Connaught contracts September 13, 2010 HOUSING support services firm Mears has taken over eight of stricken peer Connaught’s jobs and 600 workers, auditor KPMG said yesterday, leaving rivals to fight for the handful of remaining contracts. Mears acquired the work for a nominal sum from auditor KPMG, a company spokesperson confirmed yesterday, and will now speak to customers and Connaught [...]
Rio Tinto raises stake in Ivanhoe September 13, 2010 Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian miner, said yesterday it has raised its stake in Ivanhoe Mines to 34.9 per cent, following the conversion of a matured convertible credit facility. Rio Tinto has now invested about $1.73bn (£1.12bn) in Canada’s Ivanhoe, and it holds additional rights to subscribe for common shares in the company, which controls the [...]
US posts a $90bn deficit September 13, 2010 THE US posted a $90.53bn (£58.7bn) budget deficit in August, Treasury Department data showed yesterday. The August deficit was slightly below the $95bn expected by economists and smaller than the $103.56bn budget gap a year earlier. The department said the budget gap so far for fiscal 2010 was $1.260 trillion, smaller than the $1.371 trillion [...]
Capital London to become national station September 13, 2010 Capital London will become a national station under audacious new plans by its owner Global Radio. Galaxy Radio and 10 other stations will be subsumed into the national brand as the firm ramps up its rivalry with the BBC. The move will create the largest commercial radio brand in the UK, with bosses calling it [...]
Deloitte sees revenues lift September 13, 2010 DELOITTE Touche Tohmatsu, one of the largest accountancy firms, saw global revenue hit $26.6bn (£17.2bn) in 2010 as the group sets its sights on significant expansion plans. Global revenue for the firm, which is part of the Big Four group of accountants, marked a 1.8 per cent rise on the previous year when income came [...]
Big four accountants warned by FRC to improve on audits September 13, 2010 THE FOUR largest accountancy firms need to improve the quality of audit services, a body within the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has warned. A report into the auditing practices of the “big four” accountancy firms, including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and KPMG, found that in three cases KPMG had signed off on audits [...]
FOXTONS FOUNDER PLOTS HOUSING PROJECT September 13, 2010 Property mogul Jon Hunt (inset) has launched an investment firm, Bacchus Partners, to fund the development of hundreds of residential schemes in the southeast. Hunt will use part of the £370m he netted from selling estate agent Foxtons to private equity firm BC Partners at the top of the housing market in 2007. Hunt will [...]
