Papademos to lead Greek coalition November 10, 2011 Former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos will head Greece’s new crisis coalition, the president’s office said on Thursday, ending suspense over who will try to save the country from default, bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. The coalition will be sworn in at 1200 British time on Friday, a presidential official said [...]
UK interest rates held at 0.5pc November 10, 2011 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has held interest rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent while its quantitative easing (QE) programme will stay at £275bn. The MPC pumped an extra £75bn into the economy last month amid signs the economic recovery was stalling.
Markets choppy on Eurozone fears November 10, 2011 The FTSE 100 opened down today as Italy’s deepening debt crisis threatened to topple the Eurozone and plunge the world economy into uncharted waters. The cost of borrowing on Italian government bonds jumped to seven per cent yesterday — a level considered unsustainable by economists. Italy today launches an auction of as much as €5bn [...]
Eurozone growth slows as recession fears mount November 10, 2011 Eurozone economic growth will slow sharply next year as weak confidence undermines investment and consumption and tighter fiscal policies reduce domestic demand, the European Commission said. “Growth has stalled in Europe, and there is a risk of a new recession,” vice-president for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said in a statement. In its twice-yearly [...]
Cable: No tax rises or spending boost in budget November 10, 2011 The government is not about to introduce large scale tax cuts or big increases in public spending to boost growth, despite concerns the economy is heading for another recession, business minister Vince Cable said. Chancellor George Osborne would not veer from his austerity measures when he presents his budget update to parliament on 29 November, [...]
Olympus threatened with delisting November 10, 2011 Tokyo’s stock exchange warned scandal-hit Olympus Corp on Thursday it will be delisted after 62 years as a publicly traded company if it fails to report earnings by 14 December, another blow to the Japanese camera-maker’s chances of survival. Olympus said it was unlikely to issue its earnings by an earlier November 14 date, but [...]
Balfour Beatty sees US offset weak UK November 10, 2011 Balfour Beatty, Britain’s largest contractor, said cost-cutting remained a priority in its construction unit during the third quarter with a slight lift in US orders offsetting a weak UK market. Balfour, which recently handed over the Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympics, said its order book had remained flat since August at 15.5 billion [...]
Morrisons sales at top end of forecasts November 10, 2011 Wm Morrison confirmed its position as the fastest-growing of Britain’s top four supermarket groups on Thursday with a rise in third-quarter sales driven by a focus on fresh foods and low prices. The fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and market leader Tesco said sales at stores open a year rose 2.4 per cent [...]
ENDGAME November 9, 2011 THE CLOCK is ticking for the European Central Bank (ECB) and international community to step in to save Italy, economists warned as the country’s borrowing costs shot through the roof yesterday. Stocks across the world fell as the crisis escalated, with the Dow plummeting 3.2 per cent, the DAX falling 2.21 per cent. and VIX, [...]
Bring back Olympus CEO: funds November 9, 2011 BAILLIE Gifford, the Edinburgh-based fund manager, yesterday called for the reinstatement of Michael Woodford as president and CEO of Olympus nearly a month after he was fired from the group after questioning controversial payments. Baillie Gifford’s investment manager Iain Campbell says the group’s current management is now discredited. Baillie Gifford holds about four per cent [...]
