Italy’s yields hit 11-yr high July 28, 2011 ITALY saw its debt costs soar at an €8bn (£7bn) bond auction yesterday, prompting Eurozone officials to throw Rome’s participation in Greece’s bailout into doubt. As rumours circulated that Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti could resign over a corruption probe involving an aide, secondary market yields shot to 5.99 per cent, with six per cent [...]
When good news turns out to be bad July 28, 2011 SOMETIMES, it is hard not to be a glass half empty kind of person, even though I always try to see the bright side of life. Take the news yesterday that Britain’s borrowing costs fell below equivalent American rates for the first time in almost two years. The reason, of course, was the US debt [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BHP BILLITON DIGS IN AGAINST STRIKING MINERS BHP Billiton has declared force majeure on exports from the world’s biggest copper mine, as a mineworkers’ strike entered its eighth day. The strike at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile, which supplied 7 per cent of the world’s copper last year, comes in a month of [...]
Easier tax on small firms July 28, 2011 THE government launched a probe into how the UK’s smallest businesses are taxed yesterday, to ease the burden on unincorporated firms. The Office for Tax Simplification said people had to prepare arduous accounts to complete their tax returns, and grapple with unduly complex tax and accounting rules when their enterprises were often small and informal. [...]
MF Global beats forecasts July 28, 2011 US stockbroker MF Global beat market expectations yesterday as it more than doubled its net revenues to $314.5m (£192m) in the past quarter and saw its earnings jump to $7.8m, from $0.7m in the same quarter last year. MF Global launched five years ago but saw the greatest benefit from its proprietary trading division, Principal [...]
Thomson Reuters profit up 17pc July 28, 2011 Finance data provider Thomson Reuters said its operating profit rose 17 per cent in the past quarter to $669m and earnings per share rose $24 per cent despite only a four per cent rise in its revenues, as buoyant sales of its legal and accountancy-focused products were offset against lower-than-expected revenues in its markets division. [...]
Vodafone to share $10bn Verizon divi July 28, 2011 VODAFONE will finally see the benefit of its investment in Verizon Wireless in January, it emerged yesterday, when it will be paid its share of a $10bn (£6.1bn) dividend from the US telecoms operator. Verizon Wireless, the biggest mobile operator in the US, said it would pay the dividend to its co-owners Vodafone and Verizon [...]
Republican in-fighting thwarts debt plan July 28, 2011 TURMOIL engulfed Washington DC late last night after Republicans were forced to stall a House vote on their deficit reduction plan, causing the Nikkei to tumble upon opening this morning. GOP speaker John Boehner’s plan seemed on course for defeat, with up to 25 Republican rebels set to oppose the measures. Boehner requires 216 votes [...]
Credit Suisse to cull 2,000 banker jobs July 28, 2011 CREDIT Suisse is to lay off 2,000 workers in an effort to crack down on costs, trimming its global headcount by four per cent after a dire set of second-quarter results yesterday. The cull aims to reach an annual rate of SFr1bn (£763m) this year, but it will also incur costs of SFr400-450m as the [...]
M&A deals up Evercore profit July 28, 2011 BOUTIQUE Wall Street investment bank Evercore Partners has made a $2.3m (£1.4m) second-quarter profit as it benefited from a rebound in M&A. Evercore, which bought City advisory firm Lexicon Partners last month for £86m, said revenues more than doubled to $142m in the quarter, beating expectations for $135m. But its adjusted pro forma $0.43 earnings [...]
