European markets watchdog plans crackdown on mis-selling September 18, 2012 BANKS and investment firms have until the second quarter of next year to scrap pay incentives that could encourage the mis-selling of financial products, EU regulators said yesterday. The draft plan marked a widening remit for the EU’s securities watchdog as it pushes into investor protection territory, traditionally a preserve of national supervisors. Steven Maijoor, [...]
Eurozone trade surplus widens to hit €15.6bn September 18, 2012 EUROZONE unadjusted exports grew more than five times faster than imports year-on-year in July, boosting the single currency area’s trade surplus with the rest of the world, data showed yesterday. The EU’s statistics office said the unadjusted trade surplus in the 17 countries using the euro was €15.6bn (£12.6bn) in July, up from €2.1bn in [...]
Public calls for money lessons September 18, 2012 FINANCIAL education should be a compulsory subject at school, according to a poll released by MoneySupermarket yesterday. Responding to the question, “Is it important to teach children about managing money?” almost three quarters said that it was, and that it should be taught as part of the compulsory school curriculum. A further 22 per cent [...]
Civil service loses influence over government policy to outsiders September 18, 2012 CIVIL servants will have less influence on government policy following today’s announcement that a research contract has been handed to an outside organisation. The left-leaning IPPR think tank has been commissioned to carry out of a review of how foreign civil servants work to help with ongoing UK public sector reforms. The move is significant [...]
Occupy protesters mark anniversary September 18, 2012 A FEW hundred Occupy Wall Street activists gathered in New York’s financial district yesterday but police kept them well back from the New York Stock Exchange, which they had threatened to surround as part of a day of protests marking the movement’s one-year anniversary. Occupy activists had pledged to disrupt the morning commute in lower [...]
Shell delays drilling in Arctic until next year September 18, 2012 ANGLO-DUTCH oil giant Shell has delayed its exploratory drilling offshore Alaska until next year, after a vital piece of equipment used during testing was damaged. Shell, which has spent around $4.5bn (£2.8bn) in its efforts to drill in the Arctic seas, said it would suspend drilling as a containment dome used to hold oil was [...]
Falkland Oil and Gas reveals gas discovery at Loligo well September 18, 2012 OIL and gas exploration company Falkland Oil and Gas (FOGL) yesterday announced it had found gas at its Loligo exploration well in the Falkland Islands. The junior stock market-listed firm said yesterday it could not be sure if the gas was commercially viable, as it was unable to determine whether the gas had any liquid [...]
Analyst Views | What are your thoughts on Falkland Oil and Gas’s discovery? September 18, 2012 MIKE VAN DULKEN | ACCENDO MARKETS The Falklands region remains politically sensitive. While the well results show potential, gas is not what explorers in the area want to find. But the Scotia drilling could provide another share price rally. MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD | VSA CAPITAL The results don’t look that good as FOGL has no pressure [...]
China hits back at US complaint over trade laws September 17, 2012 CHINA filed a trade complaint yesterday to challenge a new US law allowing duties on subsidised goods from China. The move is seen as a tit-for-tat exchange with the US after Washington said it would launch a complaint against Beijing’s support for car exports. The two cases could shift the focus to President Barack Obama’s [...]
City Views | Have you seen any signs of green shoots in the UK economy? September 17, 2012 COLIN HALL | OUR IT DEPARTMENT LIMITED Things have got slightly better, and business has improved slightly over the last six to eight weeks, but it’s too early to say if there are any signs of green shoots. The construction figures are pretty worrying but it’s still early days in terms of the recovery. IAN [...]
