US producer prices in record fall August 18, 2009 US producer prices fell by a larger-than-expected amount in July and notched up a record decline compared with a year earlier as gasoline prices plummeted, government data showed yesterday. The Labour Department said the seasonally adjusted index for prices paid at the farm and factory gate dropped by 0.9 per cent.
Rio sells packaging arm August 18, 2009 Global miner Rio Tinto agreed to sell its Alcan packaging unit for about $2bn to Australia’s Amcor, easing its debt burden after an ill-timed acquisition two years ago. Amcor said the deal will make it a leading global player in key packaging markets. The deal is a key part of Rio’s efforts to pay down [...]
Germany investor confidence up August 18, 2009 Investor confidence in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, rose sharply this month as hopes grew that the economy will recover faster than previously expected. Germany’s ZEW think tank showed investor sentiment improved more than expected in August to its best level since April 2006. Last week, the country reported a 0.3 per cent increase in growth [...]
Star TV to cut jobs in shake up August 18, 2009 Star TV, the Asia flagship of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, yesterday announced a restructuring that will see it cut around 30 per cent of its Hong Kong headquarters staff to focus on the lucrative India market. Star TV boss Paul Aiello will also resign under the overhaul announced by James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch’s son and [...]
BLACKBERRY BOOST August 18, 2009 BLACKBERRY maker Research in Motion (RIM) has been named as the fastest-growing company by Fortune magazine. The Canada-based firm’s profits have grown 84 per cent in three years, driven by the Blackberry’s dominance of the business smartphone market and some success in the consumer space.
New RBS exec to get 917k golden hello August 18, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland’s new head of its branch network will receive a £917,000 “golden hello”, it emerged yesterday, throwing fuel on the debate over executive pay at taxpayer-controlled banks. Brian Hartzer joined the bank’s management team this week from Australian bank ANZ, and is required only to remain at RBS for two years to [...]
Corporate bonds hit $1,000bn August 18, 2009 Global corporate bond issuance has risen to a record $1,103bn (£666bn) in 2009, with four months of the year to go, according to data provider Dealogic. The boom is because of the difficulty firms face in getting loans and strong demand from investors, who can gain big yields on corporate paper compared with government bonds. [...]
US wanted Citi to oust its CFO August 18, 2009 American regulators are thought to have piled the pressure on US bank Citigroup to replace its finance head weeks before his shock departure. The development confirms investors’ belief that the replacement of Ned Kelly by Citi veteran John Gerspach in July after fewer than four months in the job had been triggered by the key [...]
IMF: slump has left scars August 18, 2009 THE GLOBAL economic recovery has begun but the downturn has left deep, long-lasting scars, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, said yesterday. “The turnaround will not be simple,” he said. “The crisis has left deep scars, which will affect both supply and demand for many years to come.” The economist warned that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 18, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES THOMAS COOK SALE PLANA large part of Arcandor’s 53 per cent stake in Thomas Cook could be sold to institutional investors as early as next month as creditor banks of the insolvent German retailer try to claw back their loans. Two people close to the banking consortium said a share placing “theoretically still [...]
