No compensation for B&B investors July 5, 2010 The Treasury does not have to pay compensation to former shareholders of buy-to-let lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B), an independent valuer said yesterday. B&B, a leading buy-to-let mortgage provider that was hit by a sharp rise in funding costs during the financial crisis, was taken into public ownership in September 2008 and its shares were [...]
Global survey shows two thirds of firms putting off fund raising July 5, 2010 ECONOMIC uncertainty and currency volatility mean nearly two thirds of companies around the world will hold off raising capital for the next two years, according to a survey by RBC Capital Markets. Around 62 per cent of the 440 senior financial and non-financial executives surveyed said they would not be calling on fresh funding, suggesting [...]
Services in doldrums due to activity slump July 5, 2010 ACTIVITY in the services sector across the major developed markets continued to slow in June, according to leading surveys of the sector published yesterday. In the UK, business activity rose at its slowest rate since August 2009, according to the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The headline PMI fell to 54.4 in June, down from [...]
UK economy still grew in the second quarter, says BCC July 5, 2010 THE UK economy continued to grow in the second quarter of the year, boosted by a strong performance in the manufacturing sector, according to the quarterly survey from the British Chambers of Commerce published today. The BCC said that most manufacturing balances showed relatively strong increases and in some cases were back to pre-recession levels. [...]
IOD: One L of a recovery lies ahead for British economy July 5, 2010 WEAK growth over the coming quarters will produce an L-shaped recovery in Britain, according the latest economic forecasts from the Institute of Directors (IOD). The IOD estimates that the British economy will only manage to grow by 0.9 per cent in 2010 and then by 1.8 per cent in 2011. This is weaker than the [...]
Top economic forecaster Martin Weale to join Bank’s rate-setting committee July 5, 2010 LEADING economist Martin Weale has been appointed as an external member of the?Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by chancellor George Osborne. The director of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) will join the MPC in time for the August rate-setting meeting and the forecast round leading up to it, the [...]
Hedge funds face a glut of competition July 5, 2010 HEDGE fund managers are buckling down for a trying year, as regulatory oversight and competition lead to a glut of market dogfights. A report out today by accounting and audit firm Rothstein Kass shows seven out of 10 expect a “trying” year as the extra competition leads to more funds chasing investment dollars. “It is [...]
London commuters face huge rise in tube fares, warns RMT July 5, 2010 TRANSPORT FOR LONDON (TfL) could hike passenger tube fares to “eye-watering” levels making the “travelling public pay through the nose”, RMT has warned. The trade union has said that TfL has not given it enough information over Olympic transport plans. London commuters will have to shoulder fare increases as TfL tries to “plug a £5bn [...]
BBC Worldwide cashes in on hit shows to net over £1bn in sales July 5, 2010 BBC Worldwide cashed in on top titles including Top Gear and Doctor Who, boosting its full-year sales seven per cent to over £1bn. It is the second consecutive year the commercial wing of the BBC has topped £1bn in sales. Operating profits increased 36.5 per cent to £145.2m. Chief executive John Smith said the figures [...]
Belgium begs London to OK EU watchdogs July 5, 2010 EU presidency holder Belgium has intervened in a row about new European financial watchdogs in an attempt to avert a breakdown in talks to set up new supervisors by the start of next year, a senior diplomat said. Last weekend the country’s finance minister Didier Reynders contacted his British, German and French counterparts, asking them [...]
