Brown pulled plug, say the Rover four July 7, 2009 FOUR former MG Rover executives accused of asset-stripping the company blamed Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday for pulling the plug on Britain’s last major car maker, leaving it to collapse in 2005. They say he took advice from key treasury adviser Baroness Vadera while he was chancellor. The so-called “Phoenix Four” – John Towers, Nick [...]
EU finance chiefs agree capital plan July 7, 2009 EUROPEAN Union finance ministers have agreed to make changes to capital requirements on financial institutions, to ensure that they build up greater cash cushions during good times. The plans, which will form the basis of legislation to be drafted in October, is intended to prevent banks lending recklessly when growth is strong and allow them [...]
UK consumer upbeat about rest of year July 7, 2009 BRITISH consumers are feeling increasingly positive and confidence levels are now close to those recorded last year, according the Nationwide consumer confidence index published today. The index rose to 58 from 54 in May, compared to a reading of 59 in June last year. Consumer expectations for the economic situation in six months time were [...]
Shop prices inched higher in June, food prices to fall July 7, 2009 INFLATION in shop prices rose only modestly in June and at a slower rate than in May, according to the British Retail Consortium-Nielsen’s shop price inflation index released today. Prices rose by 0.7 per cent in June compared with the same period last year and was held up by food inflation of 5.6 per cent [...]
Manufacturing output slump July 7, 2009 MANUFACTURING output fell by 0.5 per cent in May, according to official data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, reducing the likelihood that the UK economy returned to growth in the second quarter. The surprise fall – analysts had expected a rise of 0.2 per cent – meant that manufacturing is now 13.1 [...]
CITY EYE July 6, 2009 THE sun continued to bathe the City yesterday morning, despite those scurrilous doom-sayers predicting that the bad weather would have returned by this week. Sadly, the heavens did open towards the end of the day.
UK ad market to be overtaken by China in 2009 July 6, 2009 THE UK looks set to lose its position as the fourth-largest advertising market, according to experts at ZenithOptimedia who significantly downgraded UK advertising spend forecasts yesterday. Publicis-owned ZenithOptimedia estimated that UK ad spend will decline by 10.5 per cent to £11bn in 2009 – having predicted a decline of 8.7 per cent just three months [...]
Cattles says it won’t pay bond interest, and remains in talks with its creditors July 6, 2009 TROUBLED British sub-prime lender Cattles yesterday said it would not make a bond interest payment originally scheduled for 5 July, as talks over its bank debt approach a key deadline. Cattles, whose shares were suspended in April, added that it was still in “constructive discussions” with its creditors, and that it would issue a further [...]
Don’t let men pat you on the head July 6, 2009 I WAS shocked recently by the article, “IT Girl Grows Up” where Tamara Beckwith was interviewed and calls her husband a chauvinist, lauding his statement: “You are a woman, you do as you are told.” She responds: “It’s quite nice actually for once to do as you are told.” This is when I dream of [...]
Scrap boosts new car sales July 6, 2009 NEW car sales in June fell at their slowest rate for nearly a year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said yesterday, as it praised the government’s scrappage scheme. The number of new cars sold in the UK last month totalled 176,264 – a 15.7 per cent drop on the June 2008 figure, according [...]
