MPC moots revival of QE programme July 21, 2010 BANK OF ENGLAND policymakers considered extending the £200bn quantitative easing (QE) programme this month after weaker data pointed to a deteriorating economic outlook. At the monetary policy meeting held on 7 and 8 July, the minutes revealed that the committee considered “arguments in favour of a modest easing in the stance of monetary policy”. “A [...]
EU told to punish deficit offendersA July 21, 2010 FRANCE and Germany yesterday urged the European Union to impose tougher sanctions on serial budget deficit offenders, including stripping them of their voting rights in the Eurozone. The Franco-German proposal, made in a joint letter and approved by a French cabinet meeting attended by German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, forms part of European efforts to [...]
Stress test banks asked to predict capital needs July 21, 2010 EUROPEAN banks have been asked to estimate how much additional capital they would need under different scenarios, as part of stress tests aimed at reviving confidence in the ailing Eurozone. Lenders were asked to estimate how much more capital they might need to achieve a Tier 1 capital ratio of six per cent at the [...]
HMRC under fire for backlog of tax cases July 21, 2010 HM REVENUE & Customs (HMRC) has been criticised by the National Audit Office (NAO) for failing to deal with its huge backlog of more than 18m unresolved income tax cases. The NAO said about half the 18.2m cases might involve underpayment or overpayment of tax. It warned that as much as £4.4bn was at stake. [...]
Inflation expectations ease in July July 21, 2010 BRITONS’ expectations for inflation in the coming year eased to 2.7 per cent in July from three per cent in June, their lowest since April, a survey by Citi/YouGov showed yesterday. That is still well above the Bank of England’s two per cent inflation target, but the survey showed that 30 per cent of respondents [...]
GET PRACTISING YOUR POKER FACE: A NEW CLUB IS COMING TO TOWN July 21, 2010 WOULD you believe it, but I hear London’s very first official poker club is only just preparing to open its doors to the public. The venture is the brainchild of Chris North, a former captain of the Harlequins under-21 rugby team before he joined the world of online gaming 12 years ago. It was while [...]
Qualcomm posts higher than expected revenue July 21, 2010 CELLPHONE chip supplier Qualcomm’s fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street estimates on strong smartphone demand, sending its shares up 3.4 per cent after hours yesterday. Qualcomm said earnings rose to $767m, or 47 cents per share, for the quarter ended 27 June, from $737m, or 44 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. [...]
Blacks Leisure prays for rain as sales take tumble July 21, 2010 CAMPING and hiking specialist Black Leisure saw sales fall as the good weather took its toll. In the 17 weeks to the end of June, sales fell by a worse-than-expected 7.5 per cent – a result that seems sure to hit year-end profits. The 313-store company, which runs the Blacks Outdoor and Milletts chains, came [...]
Calls for Voda chair’s head July 21, 2010 A powerful investor group has called for the head of veteran Vodafone chairman Sir John Bond. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTTP), which has a 0.42 per cent stake in the telecoms giant, has demanded a radical shake-up at board level and says it will vote against his re-election. Though the OTTP stopped short of [...]
Farnborough show business hits $37bn July 21, 2010 MORE THAN $37bn (£24bn) in business has been agreed during the first three days of the Farnborough trade show with military spending news overshadowed by a raft of commercial aviation deals. Organisers of the show said yesterday that $37.5bn in new deals had already been signed by the midweek point. “We’ve seen buoyant activity in [...]
