Tide turns in Asian banking September 9, 2012 Investment banks in Asia are making more money from debt deals than underwriting stock offerings for the first time, a milestone in how evolving regional markets are challenging a business model that has relied upon high-paying equity deals. At the end of August, bonds and syndicated loans make up 40 per cent of capital markets [...]
RBS uses cheap state funds to cut loan rates September 9, 2012 MID-SIZED firms will today see their borrowing costs sliced by RBS as the state-backed bank passes on the savings it gets from the government’s latest cheap funding scheme. Business group the CBI welcomed the drop, arguing that more support for the sector could both “rebalance” the economy and boost growth. Credit-worthy manufacturers with a turnover [...]
Boris admits discussing return to parliament with Goldsmith September 9, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday admitted discussing a return to the House of Commons with leading Conservative backbencher Zac Goldsmith. The Mayor of London met with the MP for Richmond Park last week to talk about their shared opposition to a third runway at Heathrow. While there, it is understood the pair talked about Westminster rumours that [...]
Apple readies iPhone 5 launch as pressure to succeed mounts September 9, 2012 APPLE will unveil the latest version of the world’s best selling phone this week, as it faces increasing pressure to impress in the wake of competition from rival manufacturers. The next version of the iPhone – due to be revealed on Wednesday evening – is seen as crucial to the world’s biggest company’s continued success. [...]
Soros urges Germany to lead or leave euro September 9, 2012 GEORGE Soros has called for Germany to either “lead or leave” the Eurozone. In an article for the New York Review of Books, the investing stalwart urged Germany to help establish “a more level playing field between debtor and creditor countries” and aim at growth of up to five per cent, “allowing Europe grow itself [...]
Economist says QE could harm UK’s recovery September 9, 2012 THE TOP Bank of England economist, Spencer Dale, yesterday argued that further loose monetary policy, including increased asset purchases, could be counterproductive. Dale, who sits on the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which sets interest rates and quantitative easing (QE) targets, said that monetary expansion through bond purchases may not be an appropriate policy if [...]
London leads a bounceback in business activity in August September 9, 2012 LONDON drove a recovery in business activity during August, a business survey revealed today, as declines across England and Wales were arrested and reversed. Activity bounced back convincingly, according to Lloyds TSB’s regional purchasing managers’ index (PMI), with the UK recording a score of 52.7 in August – up from 49.5 in July, and above [...]
China factory growth hits a three year low September 9, 2012 CHINA’S factories increased their output at the slowest rate in over three years in August, according to data from the country’s National Bureau of Statistics out yesterday. Industrial output was up 8.9 per cent on the year, driven by fixed asset investment that was 20.2 per cent higher during the first two thirds of 2012 [...]
Productivity is down by 12pc September 9, 2012 UK productivity is 12.2 per cent lower than it would have been had pre-crisis growth rates continued over the past four years. But the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reckons the decline in underlying worker effectiveness has been two per cent. The gap is accounted for by a myriad of factors, including flaws [...]
Law firm claims taxman is wrong in half of complaints September 9, 2012 THE TAXMAN admitted it was wrong in well over half of the complaints it received through the 2010-11 tax year, research from law firm Pinsent Masons has revealed. There were some 58,110 complaints made to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2010-11, and in 33,284 – or 57 per cent – of these the [...]
