WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UK BUILDERS SEE VALUE OF ORDERS COLLAPSE The value of work awarded to UK construction companies crashed during the past year, raising concerns that the impact of government spending cuts will be far worse than previously feared. The total value of new work awarded to the UK’s 50 leading construction companies fell by [...]
Obama arrives early in UK May 23, 2011 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama flew to the UK from Ireland ahead of schedule last night, as worries over ash from Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano spreading to UK airspace forced an early departure. Obama had planned to stay in Ireland overnight after visiting both Dublin and the small village of Moneygall, where one of his ancestors lived [...]
US insurers face $10bn losses May 23, 2011 Devastating tornadoes, floods, earthquakes overseas and a busier-than-usual hurricane season have US insurance companies bracing for record losses in 2011. Insurers could suffer as much as $10bn (£6.2bn) from weather-related losses in the US in 2011, which is up from the average of $2bn to $4bn, according to EQECAT, which provides disaster and risk models [...]
Shale gas drilling gets go-ahead May 23, 2011 Britain does not need to impose a moratorium on drilling for unconventional gas sources, a parliamentary committee said yesterday, two weeks after France recommended making a freeze on shale gas drilling permanent. There is no evidence that fracking, a process that involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock formations to extract trapped gas, [...]
Fears of chaos as ash cloud hits Scotland May 23, 2011 FEARS OF a repeat of last summer’s mass flight disruption were fuelled yesterday as airlines began cancelling flights in and out of Scotland in the wake of the volcanic ash cloud blowing in from Iceland. BA, KLM, Easyjet, Flybe, Aer Lingus, Loganair and Eastern Airways have all cancelled services for today as the Met Office [...]
Glencore to join FTSE 100 in full trading launch May 23, 2011 COMMODITIES giant Glencore will claim its place in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index as it begins full market trading on the London Stock Exchange today. Glencore is expected to join the FTSE 100 immediately due to its more than £30bn market value, pushingsoftware maker Invensys into the FTSE 250. But in signs that investors may [...]
CHELSEA CHARMS THE CITY May 23, 2011 THE Queen was presented with a rare orchid named in her honour yesterday as this year’s Chelsea Flower Show 2011 opened with several well-known City players braving the strong winds for the annual gala preview. Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw, Marks & Spencer chair Robert Swannell, Lloyds chairman Sir Win Bischoff, newly appointed Tesco chair Sir [...]
Cable attacks lenders over Merlin target May 23, 2011 BANKS endured a hail of criticism yesterday as official figures confirmed that businesses did not request as much credit as the Treasury was hoping for under the Merlin deal struck with banks in February. Data published yesterday show that there was demand for £47.3bn in credit facilities in the first-quarter covered by the Merlin agreement. [...]
Don’t blame banks for low demand May 23, 2011 VINCE Cable was grand-standing on his favourite topic yesterday: the ills of British banks. But there was more sound than sense in his warning that lenders had better “meet the commitments they agreed” – or else. That’s because the five Merlin banks have so far done exactly as promised. They have collectively set aside £190bn [...]
BANKS’ LENDING AGREEMENTS May 23, 2011 Q. WHAT DID THE BANKS COMMIT TO? A. Under the terms of “project Merlin”, a deal with the Treasury aimed at reviving lenders’ image, five banks – RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays and Santander UK – agreed to make £190bn in credit available to businesses this year, versus £179bn in 2010. They earmarked £76bn of this [...]
