Japan’s finance minister calls for a weaker yen January 7, 2010 JAPAN’S new finance minister yesterday called for a weaker yen and said he would work with the Bank of Japan to achieve an appropriate level, prompting a sharp slide in the currency against the dollar. In his first press conference as finance minister, Naoto Kan also signalled he would maintain pressure on the central bank [...]
CITY VIEWS: what is the weather’s economic impact? January 7, 2010 DANIELLE FOSTER | GFI “On Wednesday there were quite a few people off, a lot more made the effort to come in [yesterday]. It’s easy for me to get in to work – other parts of the country find it harder, so maybe they have been more badly hurt.” FEMI OWOYEMI | STATE BANK OF [...]
Car sales to fall as scrap scheme ends January 7, 2010 SALES of new cars in the UK reached almost two million last year, which was the lowest level since 1995, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said yesterday. Full-year sales fell 6.4 per cent from 2008’s total to 1,994,999 vehicles, despite the boost provided by the government’s £2,000 scrappage trade in scheme on [...]
Bus firms facing investigation January 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S big five bus firms are facing a probe over concerns that limited competition is driving up fares. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking the Competition Commission to investigate the industry after finding that a distorted market was causing higher prices and poorer services. The probe is likely to hit firms such as [...]
GM says death of Saab is a foregone conclusion January 7, 2010 General Motors joint chief executive Ed Whitacre said yesterday he is not hopeful a deal can be reached to sell Saab and said the American carmaker will start to wind-down the Swedish brand. GM is dropping its Pontiac, Saturn and Saab brands and selling Hummer as it restructures to return to profitability after emerging from [...]
Microsoft unveils new tablet PC January 7, 2010 MICROSOFT chief executive Steve Ballmer unveiled a new Hewlett-Packard tablet computer yesterday, beating Apple’s hotly anticipated move into the market. But analysts were sceptical that Microsoft and HP could generate as much consumer excitement as Apple’s new device, widely expected to be unveiled on 27 January, though the company has not said anything about it [...]
Costain cheers as order book hits £2.6bn mark January 7, 2010 CONSTRUCTION group Costain is celebrating a 30 per cent rise in forward orders to £2.6bn thanks to transport, utility and local authority work. Costain said 2010 prospects were uncertain, but its order book included more than £850m of work this year, better than at this time last year. The group is winning utility, nuclear, road [...]
Hunt for Chinese ponzi schemer January 7, 2010 Police in Canada have issued an arrest warrant for the self-proclaimed “Chinese Warren Buffett” accused of masterminding a million-dollar Ponzi scheme. Weizhen Tang, 51, of Toronto, is alleged to have defrauded more than 100 victims of nearly £19m through an online trading scheme. He is currently thought to be in Hong Kong.
Delay for Ticketmaster merger January 7, 2010 The US Justice Department wants to see more concessions before deciding whether to approve the merger of ticketing giant Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, according to sources. If no agreement is reached, a team of lawyers is ready oppose the music industry deal, seen as the Obama administration’s best chance yet [...]
Horizon recruits ex-Goldman man January 7, 2010 US private investment firm Horizon Asset Management yesterday named former Goldman Sachs partner Douglas Kramer as chief executive. The move is part of the New York firm’s strategy to lure money from institutional investors to add to its existing client base of high-net-worth individuals.
