Bearish Titan says non to French bon vivants February 21, 2013 TITAN International chairman Maurice Taylor has taken a bold stand on behalf of the Anglo-Saxon model, not-so-politely declining an offer to buy a French factory that is being closed by American tyre-maker Goodyear. After being invited to visit the factory in northern France, Taylor sent a letter to French industry minister Arnaud Montebourg, and did [...]
Wanted: Female, likes Antigua February 21, 2013 READERS of this page will remember that lucky Clifford Chance associate Lukas Hirst recently won a City A.M. prize draw, and was rewarded with a luxury holiday for two at the beautiful Sandals hotel in Antigua. There is just one problem: our lovely lawyer is single – and the resort, recently voted the “world’s most [...]
Mortgage rates fall to new low with state aid February 21, 2013 MORTGAGE interest rates dropped to their lowest level ever in February, new figures showed yesterday, six months after the Bank of England started offering banks cheap funding in an effort to boost lending to the private sector. The average five-year fixed mortgage costs just 4.14 per cent, according to finance research site MoneyFacts. That is [...]
Japan posts record trade deficit as weak yen pushes up imports February 21, 2013 JAPAN recorded its deepest ever trade deficit in January, despite a sharp weakening in the yen due to a raft of monetary stimulus. Exports climbed for the first time in eight months, helped by a 16 per cent slide in the yen, versus the dollar, since November last year. But this 6.4 per cent annual [...]
IFS pushes for new tax policy February 21, 2013 THE CHANCELLOR should set out specific tax objectives against which to test tax policy, a prominent think tank said yesterday. This move should come as part of a new way of doing tax policy, the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued, with the Treasury facing greater scrutiny in its policy-making. Reform is needed because [...]
Housing starts dip in January February 21, 2013 US NEW housing starts crashed in January, but kept well above their level during January last year. Privately-owned housing starts sunk 8.5 per cent between December and the first month of 2013, bringing them from 973,000 in December to 890,000 – but they were still 23.6 per cent above January 2012’s 720,000 starts, according to [...]
Brussels steps up control over borrowing rules February 21, 2013 THE EUROPEAN Commission will get new powers to monitor Eurozone governments’ budgets and can demand changes if they do not fit in with European borrowing rules under a deal struck with the European Parliament yesterday. But a plan to pool debts was abandoned after countries led by Germany rejected the idea that they should back [...]
Top two Eurozone economies hit by price deflation in 2013 February 21, 2013 CONSUMER prices fell into decline in Germany and France in January, according to figures released yesterday. Both countries were hit with a 0.5 per cent fall in their consumer price indices (CPI) last month, as the Eurozone crisis continues, although over the year the two Eurozone giants still saw prices rise. Annual inflation was 1.7 [...]
Credit Agricole in the red again with record loss February 21, 2013 FRENCH bank Credit Agricole reported record losses yesterday after a hefty tax bill on the disposal of its Greek arm sent costs soaring. The bank lost €3.98bn (£3.47bn) in the fourth quarter of 2012 and €6.47bn in the year as a whole, its worst performance since going public 11 years ago. But shares rose as [...]
Heron Tower seeks refinancing February 21, 2013 THE consortium responsible for the Heron Tower on Bishopsgate is understood to be renegotiating a £370m loan used to construct the building. Gerald Ronson’s Heron International built the 230m tall structure, which opened in 2011, in conjunction with Middle Eastern investors but both parties are now in discussions with German banks who provided funding towards [...]
