Gold prices spike overnight February 27, 2013 As we discussed yesterday, gold prices will move upwards when markets expect inflation. This happens as gold is seen as a good store of value. They did exactly that overnight. Our reporter Julian Harris writes: The price of gold rebounded sharply last night after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke leapt to the defence [...]
Centrica’s residential energy profits heat up February 27, 2013 Centrica, the utility company, has released results for the full year to the end of December (results) and have announced a headline 11 per cent increase in profits in residential energy supply. Phil Bentley is to step down as managing director of British Gas by the end of June and will leave the company by [...]
Pay the bank to hold your cash February 26, 2013 Deputy governor admits the Bank of England is considering negative interest rates STERLING took a tumble yesterday as Bank of England bosses revealed they are considering pushing interest rates below zero and might turn the printing presses back on. Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England, told MPs: “Nobody on the Monetary Policy Committee [...]
Italy turns European markets red February 26, 2013 EUROPEAN markets went into free-fall yesterday, as Italian electoral gridlock obliterated all the gains the continents’ indices have made so far in the year. Nearly every European index was down, as the Italian upper chamber was split between Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right, Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left and Beppe Grillo’s populist protest party. Euro Stoxx 50 plunged 3.1 [...]
Bonuses bounce back on a smaller Wall Street February 26, 2013 WALL Street bonuses increased nine per cent to an average of $122,000 (£81,000) last year despite escalating job losses and at the same time as the Big Apple’s financial sector shrank overall, according to estimates released yesterday. The average bonus pool for employees employed in the securities industry in New York City surged some eight [...]
Gold price jumps as Fed chief defends QE policy February 26, 2013 THE PRICE of gold rebounded sharply last night after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke leapt to the defence of its unprecedented quantitative easing programme. The yellow metal jumped around 1.3 per cent to hit $1,614.11 an ounce in the early hours of this morning. Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, which [...]
Negative interest rates are the last thing the economy needs February 26, 2013 JUST in case anybody was still in doubt that yet more quantitative easing (QE) and extraordinary monetary measures are on the cards, Paul Tucker, the Bank of England’s deputy governor, could not have been any clearer yesterday. He even raised the prospect of the Bank of England imposing negative nominal interest rates, at least on [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 26, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Esure warned against overpricing Top fund managers have warned Esure against overpricing its initial public offering as the motor and home insurer prepares to launch London’s latest float as early as today. Bankers were yesterday finalising the details of the planned float as analysts said that the most recent publicly available accounts indicated [...]
130,000 homes sold at a loss since 2007 February 26, 2013 MORE than 130,000 British families have sold their homes at a loss since the financial crisis began, according to a report released today. The figures lay bare the damage done to house prices since 2007, with 41 per cent of homes bought and sold during the last six years reaching less than the seller paid for [...]
Hedge fund managers bank £11bn February 26, 2013 The world’s top 40 hedge fund managers earned an eye-watering $16.7bn (£11.1bn) in pay last year, with CQS Management boss Michael Hintze the top paid London manager, according to a study by Forbes magazine. The list shows the top five earners accounted for close to half of the total, some $7.8bn. Hintze came in at [...]
