Spanish borrowing costs soar June 16, 2010 Madrid’s cost of borrowing has hit a new high amid renewed fears over the state of its public finances. Investors are demanding a yield of 4.9 per cent on 10-year bonds, the steepest level since July 2008 and the widest spread over German bunds since the start of the euro in 1999. Analysts said the [...]
S&P circuit breakers triggered June 16, 2010 The Washington Post activated the S&P 500 circuit breakers for the first time yesterday after its shares doubled in price within the space of one second. The safety catches, brought in after last month’s “flash crash”, freeze a stock if its price rises or falls by 10 per cent inside a period of five minutes. [...]
Ex-OFT expert brought in to probe banks June 16, 2010 SIR John Vickers, the former boss of the Office of Fair Trading, has been appointed to lead a wide-ranging review into the future shape of the banking industry. Announcing the appointment in the Commons, chancellor George Osborne said Vickers would be asked to investigate the best “size, scale and function” of banks in the future. [...]
Osborne wins Square Mile’s quiet approval June 16, 2010 CITY figures cautiously welcomed chancellor George Osborne’s decision to restore financial regulation to the Bank of England last night, but urged him to think carefully about the shift. Osborne said oversight of UK-based high street lenders, investment banks, building societies and insurers would be the responsibility of a new body under the control of the [...]
Old Lady of Threadneedle Street enjoys comeback June 16, 2010 BANK of England governor Mervyn King welcomed his dramatically extended powers over financial regulation last night, pledging to “take the punch bowl away and turn down the music” at the banking party. In an address sprinkled with jibes at Gordon Brown’s former government, King said the transfer of macro-prudential oversight from the Financial Services Authority [...]
Jobless claims fell even further in May June 16, 2010 THE number of Britons claiming jobless benefits shrank again in May but the headline rate of unemployment climbed to almost 2.5m in April, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed yesterday. The claimant count, which records those receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance, fell by 30,900 in May to 1.48m and the April figure was revised [...]
Lord Mayor Nick Anstee: Stop bashing the banks June 16, 2010 BREAKING the financial industry would wound the wider economy, Lord Mayor of the City of London Nick Anstee warned last night, in a defence of the banking sector. Anstee welcomed the coalition government’s approach to cutting Britain’s budget deficit, but urged against a populist crackdown on large lenders. “I hope calls for the City to [...]
Government pledges help for forgotten millions June 16, 2010 THE coalition government yesterday said it would help the “forgotten millions” find a job, after new statistics revealed record numbers of people are now economically inactive. Although the number of people claiming job seekers’ allowance fell in May, figures from the Office of National Statistics yesterday showed there are almost 5m people claiming at least [...]
BP caves into US demand as halts dividend June 16, 2010 BP finally caved into White House pressure yesterday and agreed to set aside $20bn (£13.5bn) to pay for compensation claims arising from the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe as well as suspend its dividend payments this year. After more than five hours of discussions, the embattled UK oil major reached an agreement with US President Barack [...]
Gulf oil spill climbs to 60,000 barrels a day after scientists evaluate new data June 16, 2010 THE VOLUME of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico from the Macondo well is higher than originally thought after US scientists estimated that up to 60,000 barrels a day could be flowing into the water. Yesterday, US energy secretary Steven Chu and Interior secretary Ken Salazar said that a new estimated range of between [...]
