Greece to flog Holland Park consulate September 19, 2012 THE GREEK government is expected to sell its consulate in Holland Park as part of wide-ranging measures to cut costs and maintain the support of its bailout providers. The elegant terrace house in west London is currenly undergoing renovation (pictured above, pre-renovation) and could be one of many foreign buildings sold off. Meanwhile reports from Athens said [...]
Gaspar hails Portugal’s progress September 19, 2012 ■ Portugal’s painful economic reforms are producing encouraging results, its finance minister and his German counterpart said yesterday after meeting in Berlin. Competitiveness is improving and government spending is now under control, Wolfgang Schaeuble and Vitor Gaspar said in a joint statement. Gaspar added that Portugal’s Treasury bill auction yesterday achieved interest rates similar to [...]
Construction shrinks in Eurozone September 19, 2012 ■ Production in the Eurozone’s construction sector dipped by 0.3 per cent in July compared to the previous month, data from Brussels’ Eurostat office revealed yesterday. The figure marked the second straight month of decline, after construction dipped by 0.6 per cent in June. Compared to the same time last year, production in the industry [...]
More states could join the euro September 19, 2012 ■ Deepening problems in the Eurozone may not deter other European states from joining the single currency bloc, the Prime Ministers of Croatia and Latvia revealed yesterday. Croatian PM Zoran Milanovic said that interest in signing up to the euro – which is currently the official currency of 17 European countries – remains strong in [...]
City bonuses plunge again but other sectors begin to recover September 19, 2012 FINANCIAL services workers saw their bonuses drop last year, official data revealed yesterday, while bonuses increased in almost every other industry. The payouts for workers in financial and insurance activities slumped nine per cent to a total of £13.3bn in 2011-12, down from £14.6bn in 2010-11. And that is well below the peak of almost [...]
Asian growth drives revenue rise at Deloitte September 19, 2012 BIG Four accounting firm Deloitte said it generated record global revenues of $31.3bn (£19.3bn) last year, as it enjoyed its fastest growth since 2008. The firm said turnover grew 8.6 per cent in dollar terms in the 12 months to 31 May, compared to 8.4 per cent growth a year ago. Deloitte credited this to [...]
Soros drops out of Forbes top 10 richest September 19, 2012 INVESTOR George Soros has dropped from 7th to 15th place in Forbes magazine’s list of the wealthiest Americans. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates retained the top spot, with his wealth estimated at $66bn (£40bn), while Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett took second place ($46bn). New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of the media firm, is tenth with $25bn.
Bank minutes show one dove in favour of QE September 19, 2012 ONE BANK of England rate-setter strongly considered voting for expanding quantitative easing (QE) in August, meeting minutes revealed yesterday, though in the end there was a unanimous vote against. Analysts agreed that this lone dove on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was probably David Miles, known for his pro-QE stance. A bigger contingent of the [...]
Do you think the bank of England should print more money ? September 19, 2012 ROSHIM SOOD | TECH MAHINDRA “Yes – printing more money and lending at a low rate as the banks have been doing is good. It’s important to let the economy flow, and banks need to be taking more risks to get positive results.” ROB STECK | IVY MASON HR CONSULTING “I think it’s a good [...]
Sberbank sale sparks more privatisations September 19, 2012 RUSSIA’S second largest bank yesterday announced it is seeking to sell shares next spring, following the central bank’s successful sale of a stake in the country’s largest institution Sberbank. VTB’s boss Andrei Kostin said “we will go ahead” with a $2bn (£1.2bn) sale next year, which could include new shares as well as some privatisation. [...]
