FSA promises to restore trust July 14, 2009 FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner last night vowed to restore consumer trust in financial services. Turner said the City watchdog’s financial capability programme would inform consumers, while measures to crack down on misconduct would prevent companies from taking advantage of customers. He heralded the government’s decision to expand a money guidance service [...]
US officials at odds over bailout for CIT July 14, 2009 US GOVERNMENT officials were last locked in debate over whether to throw a lifeline to ailing business lender CIT Group. Despite fears that CIT’s financial woes could spell disaster for up to a million small and medium-sized businesses, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) is resisting calls to offer the firm access to its loan [...]
Inflation falls below Bank’s 2pc target July 14, 2009 CONSUMER price inflation fell below the Bank of England target of two per cent for the first time since September 2007, official data showed yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated that the consumer prices index (CPI) fell to 1.8 per cent in June, on an annual basis while the broader retail [...]
Airport hotels feel the squeeze July 14, 2009 The UK hotel sector is continuing to suffer from a drop in revenue per available room (revPAR), but the capital is holding up better than regional Britain, according to a report out yesterday by Deloitte. Overall revPAR decline across the UK has accelerated by one percentage point to 13.7 per cent since April to June. [...]
PwC warns on house prices July 14, 2009 Despite cries of green shoots in the property sector, Price Waterhouse Cooper’s latest economic outlook yesterday forecast further falls in house prices between 2009 and 2010 before they flatten out in 2011. PwC also says that house prices may not return to last year’s levels until 2020. The new bearish findings are based on projections [...]
Bernard Madoff moves jails July 14, 2009 Convicted fraudster Bernard Madoff has been transferred to the same prison which once held swindler Charles Ponzi. Madoff, 71, was last month sentenced to 150 years in jail after admitting a $65bn (£40bn) fraud. He has been moved from a New York cell to the US Penitentiary in Atlanta.
Eurozone output rises slowly July 14, 2009 The volume of goods leaving eurozone factories rose in May, but the upturn was weaker than expected. Production rose 0.5 per cent in the 16-member currency region, but was still 17 per cent lower than a year ago.
MYNERS BACKS HEDGIES July 14, 2009 CITY minister Lord Myners said yesterday there were “serious deficiencies” in the EU’s draft directive on hedge funds. He also told the House of Lords subcommittee that the government was working on alternatives to the planned law.
Primark founder to step down as MD July 14, 2009 THE publicity-shy founder of Primark, Arthur Ryan, will step down as managing director of the retailer in September. Ryan, who opened its first store in Dublin 40 years ago, is likely to be replaced by Paul Marchant, a former New Look executive and Primark’s chief operating officer. Associated British Foods (ABF), Primark’s parent company, declined [...]
RSA protects itself against pensions risk July 14, 2009 ROYAL & Sun Alliance (RSA) yesterday insured itself against potential increases in the cost of funding one third of its staff pensions scheme. The insurance deal, arranged by investment bank Goldman Sachs subsidiary Rothesay Life, is set to deliver a “small” earnings boost from 2010, but will have no impact on earnings this year, RSA [...]
