Tokyo to stage the 2020 Olympic games September 8, 2013 TOKYO was awarded the 2020 summer Olympic Games this weekend, beating Istanbul in a head-to-head vote after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a charismatic plea to the International Olympic Committee and promised Japan’s crippled nuclear plant was “under control”. The Japanese capital won what one insider had called a “least-ugly” contest by most effectively [...]
Economists divided over crucial timing of Fed’s tapering plans September 8, 2013 AFTER poor jobs data raised questions over the trimming back of the US Fed’s quantitative easing (QE) programme, opinions are split as to when the much-anticipated tapering will begin. Meagre employment gains announced on Friday divided analysts’ views of how likely it was for the Fed to begin reducing asset purchases this month. The expectation [...]
Italians debate expelling Silvio Berlusconi from parliament September 8, 2013 ITALIAN Prime Minister Enrico Letta warned of the risk of fresh political turmoil yesterday, a day before a Senate committee meets to decide whether to expel the country’s former leader Silvio Berlusconi from parliament. As the two main partners in his fragile coalition prepare for a showdown over Berlusconi’s future, Letta told business leaders that [...]
Regional firms see best ever August growth September 8, 2013 ENGLAND’S regions saw the strongest business growth ever recorded in August, as Lloyds noted robust growth around the UK, and booming firms in some areas. Purchasing managers from the north west, south east, south west and east of England all reported the strongest growth ever seen, after a raft of recent surveys and figures which [...]
Recovery boosts demand for professionals September 8, 2013 FINANCE and accounting vacancies shot up 15 per cent on the year in July and August as the recovery takes hold and boosts demand for professional workers, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) said today. The group found a 1.5 per cent monthly rise in demand for marketing, engineering and IT workers over the [...]
Young workers want more help to understand their finances September 8, 2013 GENERATION Y employees want more financial education at work, and do not understand benefit packages designed by their baby boomer elders, a Barclays report reveals today. And workers are increasingly saving too little for their pensions, according to Scottish Widows. The average amount workers are willing to save has dropped 24 per cent from £67 [...]
Spending spike as UK economy bounces back September 8, 2013 AS SURVEYS indicate a bumper month for business this September, new figures suggest that the increased activity is driven mainly by consumer spending, with credit and debit card use on the up. Barclaycard said yesterday there had been a strong upswing in spending through August, backing up figures from Visa Europe, which recorded its strongest [...]
Firms steering clear of deals in newer markets September 8, 2013 COMPANIES have shied away from making takeover bids in emerging markets so far this year, as part of the wider slump in global mergers and acquisitions, research published today suggests. The number of bids for targets in high-growth economies from firms in developed nations fell 23 per cent on the same period a year ago [...]
Former GlaxoSmithKline boss to make return to public market September 8, 2013 A MEDICAL investment group chaired by the former boss of pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sir Richard Sykes, is due to float on London’s junior market next week. NetScientific, which funds and develops and healthcare technologies from universities in Britain and the UK, is seeking to raise £30m on Aim, with shares expected to start trading [...]
Chinese mobile networks ready for new iPhone September 8, 2013 TELECOM carriers China Unicom and China Telecom will carry Apple’s newest iPhone models within days of their launch in Beijing this week as the US technology giant tries to regain lost ground in its second biggest market by releasing the phones faster. Apple said last week it was holding a satellite event in Beijing on [...]
