Massive gas find in NW England September 21, 2011 Private equity-backed energy explorer Cuardrilla has discovered a shale gas deposit near Blackpool that it thinks could hold 200 trillion cubic feet of fuel – a much larger deposit than first estimates had shown. The firm said the find could create more than 5,000 jobs.
EU banks face €200bn extra risk on crises September 21, 2011 SOVEREIGN debt crises are straining banks to the tune of hundreds of billions of euros, and greater measures urgently need to be taken to counter the problems that creates, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) global stability report said yesterday. The Eurozone debt crisis has had a “direct impact” of €200bn on EU banks in terms [...]
Fresh fears over US debt ceiling as bill is rejected September 21, 2011 AMERICA could be plunged into yet another debt ceiling crisis, after Republican rebels and Democrats unexpectedly voted down a bill to keep the government funded. The bill would fund the US government past 30 September. Democrats objected to cuts to a subsidisation programme for electric vehicles. The party’s opposition to the cut was partly expected, yet [...]
Moody’s cuts ratings for Citi, BofA and Wells September 21, 2011 RATINGS agency Moody’s yesterday cut the debt ratings of three of America’s biggest banks on worries the US government would be less likely to support a large lender if it got into trouble. Bank of America’s long-term senior debt rating has been cut from A2 to Baa1, Wells Fargo long-term debt has dropped from A1 [...]
Greece cuts prompt union strike threat September 21, 2011 GREECE’S biggest public sector unions voted for two days of strikes next month as its cabinet unveiled a new round of austerity measures. The government is expected to lay off thousands of civil servants and will put another 30,000 into a “reserve army” – on permanent holiday with 60 per cent pay. It will also [...]
Mediobanca hit by Greek bond write-downs September 21, 2011 ITALIAN lender Mediobanca was pushed into the red for its fourth quarter due to write-downs, it revealed in its full-year results yesterday. Over the year to June, the bank took a €109m (£94.5m) hit on its Greek bond holdings, accounting for nearly half of its total impairments of €238m for the year. Despite a fourth-quarter loss, [...]
ECB loosens its collateral requirements for lending September 21, 2011 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it is prepared to accept a wider range of collateral in return for dishing out emergency funds to the Eurozone’s floundering banks. It said that it will now accept assets that are not listed on regulated public markets as collateral, potentially opening the way for billions in [...]
MPC moves closer to new round of QE September 21, 2011 MORE QUANTITATIVE easing (QE) is likely to be implemented “at some point” because of falling economic growth expectations, minutes of last week’s monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, out yesterday, show. However, the US policy of selling short-maturity assets and replacing them with longer ones, cutting long-term interest rates, was ruled out. Only one of the nine [...]
UK government borrowed a record £16bn last month September 21, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT borrowed more last month than in any other in this financial year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday. Almost £16bn was added to the national debt in August, excluding financial interventions, reversing July’s surprise surplus. August’s deficit of £15.9bn is up from £14bn in August last year, with spending up by [...]
SHOULD THE BANK OF ENGLAND DO MORE QE? September 21, 2011 TOBY BRYMER | ALLIANZ “Yes, it should, because Europe is in a critical condition at the moment. If the economy gets any worse there will be big repercussions.” KEITH JULIAN | JRP UNDERWRITING “At some stage I think it is inevitable, because of the state of the economy. Whether now is the right time for QE [...]
