Banks miss small firms loan target of Project Merlin May 22, 2011 THE UK’s five largest banks have failed to meet a Project Merlin target for making £76bn of credit available to small and medium size businesses (SMEs) this year, the Bank of England is set to reveal today. Preliminary figures showed that in the first three months of the year, the banks – RBS, Lloyds, Barclay, [...]
Nestle chair to stay on board for six years May 22, 2011 NESTLE’S chairman hopes to stay on the board until 2017 and reiterated that the food producer has until 2014 to decide on its stake in French cosmetics company L’Oreal, a paper reported yesterday. Peter Brabeck said in a weekend newspaper interview he aimed to stay on the Nestle board until the statutory limit, which was [...]
City split on so-called Cadbury law while Obama support stays strong May 22, 2011 Almost as many City opinion formers would back a “Cadbury law” making it more difficult for foreign companies to take over UK ones as oppose it. According to the latest poll by PoliticsHome and City A.M., 44.6 per cent would back changes to current rules, with 47.9 per cent saying they would oppose them. A [...]
Osborne eyes strong deficit cuts in 2011-12 May 22, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s deficit-curtailing efforts will come into focus tomorrow with the release of the government’s net borrowing requirement for April. The figures will shed light on the start of Osborne’s first full fiscal year of major cuts. The deficit could be slashed to £115.6bn by the end of 2011-12, the Institute for Fiscal Studies [...]
Coalition reform plans will fail to make work pay May 22, 2011 GOVERNMENT proposals to reform the welfare system will fail to “make work pay” for many parents, a think tank report will claim today. Despite the coalition’s pledge that people will be “better off for each hour they work” under the new universal credit scheme, parents throughout the UK will face negligible incentives to work, the [...]
ECONOMISTS’ VIEWS: IS OSBORNE’S DEFICIT REDUCTION PLAN ON TRACK? May 22, 2011 DAVID MILLER | CHEVIOT ASSET MANAGEMENT “Reining back the deficit had to happen and is being managed reasonably well. Corporate sector tax receipts may surprise to the upside.” SIMON KIRBY | NIESR “Unlike the Office for Budget Responsibility, we don’t expect Osborne to meet the primary goal of a cyclically adjusted budget balance in 2015-16.” [...]
Squeeze of UK household finances starts to relax May 22, 2011 THE deterioration of household finances appears to be slowing, according to a survey released by Markit today. While Britons remain pessimistic about their finances, the outlook this month was the least negative since January. The household finance index edged up by half a point (to 36) in May, while the index measuring the financial outlook [...]
UK’s factory wages edge upwards May 22, 2011 Wage settlements have begun to creep upwards in the manufacturing sector, a survey reveals today. Settlements rose by an average of 2.5 per cent in the three months to the end of April — the highest since January 2009 and up from 2.4 per cent in the three months to March.
Business morale starts to repair May 22, 2011 Business confidence has shot up this quarter following four straight quarters of decline, according to a survey released today. The ICAEW and Grant Thornton UK business confidence monitor recorded improvements in all 14 financial performance indicators.
Cook more to pare income crunch May 22, 2011 Shoppers are looking to beat the squeeze on incomes by cooking more food from scratch, the IGD shopper track has shown.
