Faith in government slashed in midst of double-dip recession October 31, 2012 CITIZENS’ trust in parliament and government dived this year, data showed yesterday, reversing gains seen in 2011 when the economy looked back on its way to growth. Twenty-three per cent of adults aged 15 and over said they tended to trust parliament, when surveyed by the Office for National Statistics in May, down from 29 [...]
Lending falls despite loans scheme October 31, 2012 UK banks’ exposure to real estate slid in the third quarter, as a percentage of total lending, Jones Lang LaSalle said yesterday, despite the government’s Funding for Lending scheme that intends to boost loans. Real estate lending fell to 8.4 per cent of the total in the period, the firm said, the lowest level since 2002, [...]
Austerity labelled self-defeating October 31, 2012 The government’s attempts to reduce the deficit may be self-defeating, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research claimed yesterday. It said that interest rates are so low that monetary policy can only have limited boosting power, and co-ordinated European retrenchment is damaging trade with Europe, so reducing the size of the fiscal stimulus could [...]
Child benefit cuts to cost £50,000 October 31, 2012 The coalition’s cuts to child benefit could cost some families up to £50,000 according to a PwC report published this morning. A two-parent family with three children aged under six would lose this amount by the time their youngest is 18, assuming one parent is earning £60,000 or more. A family in the same situation [...]
US mortgage applications slump despite more relaxed loan terms October 31, 2012 US CREDIT conditions on bank loans eased in the three months to October, data showed yesterday, but this improvement was not enough to boost demand for mortgages, according to separate statistics. Banks are dropping both standards and terms, the Federal Reserve said, driven by fierce competition from other banks as well as non-bank lenders. US [...]
Vodafone bags Kiwi telecoms firm after regulator clears deal October 31, 2012 VODAFONE yesterday won approval for its NZ$840m (£429m) takeover of struggling telecoms company TelstraClear, as part of a bid to take on the dominant Telecom New Zealand. The country’s competition authorities gave Vodafone the green light for the deal yesterday. In New Zealand, as in the UK, Vodafone runs a mobile phone network. But is [...]
Panasonic and Toshiba warn of a slowdown October 31, 2012 JAPANESE electronics giants Toshiba and Panasonic both admitted trading had been disappointing in the last few months yesterday, and warned that prospects continued to be stormy. The two heavyweights have struggled to move as quickly as more nimble competitors such as Samsung in key markets like televisions. Panasonic said it would lose around ¥765bn (£5.9bn) [...]
PVH to pay $2.8bn for Warnaco to take control of Calvin Klein October 31, 2012 PVH will buy rival Warnaco Group for about $2.8bn (£1.7bn) in a deal that will give the company more control of the Calvin Klein clothing brand and boost profits immediately, sending PVH shares up as much as 23 per cent. PVH bought Calvin Klein in 2003 and makes formal and sportswear under that brand, while [...]
Japanese earnings under stress but housing gets back on track October 31, 2012 JAPANESE total cash earnings were flat in September, compared to a year earlier, data revealed yesterday, but separate housing figures were boosted by reconstruction efforts in the wake of last year’s earthquake. Japanese wage earners took home exactly the same amount, on average, in September, as they did a year earlier, according to labour ministry [...]
Murdoch bumps up holding in Australian pay-TV firm Foxtel October 31, 2012 RUPERT Murdoch tightened his grip on Australia’s media landscape yesterday, winning support for his A$2bn (£1.29bn) takeover of a large investor in Foxtel, the country’s dominant pay-TV network. Shareholders at Consolidated Media Holdings (CMH) voted in favour of the takeover, which doubles Murdoch’s stake in Foxtel to 50 per cent. The deal also gives News [...]
