NYSE trading light before quadruple witching hour March 17, 2010 US stocks gained yesterday, pushing the Dow to a 17-month high, after a benign February inflation reading supported the Federal Reserve’s renewed pledge of low interest rates. The market reacted positively to a drop in the February Producer Price Index, further supporting the near-zero interest rates that have propelled the rally in equities. On Tuesday, [...]
City: cut deficit sooner not later March 17, 2010 THE NEXT government should start cutting public spending later this year, rather than waiting until 2011, according to our panel of City and business professionals. Seventy-seven per cent of panelists said spending should start to be cut shortly after the May general election, amid worries over the UK’s yawning £178bn budget deficit and exploding national [...]
Four banks in Italian fraud trial March 17, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bank, JP Morgan Chase, UBS and Germany’s Depfa Bank have been called to stand trial in Italy over a complex derivatives deal with Milan which was designed to reduce interest payments on a €1.68bn (£1.5bn) bond issued by the city. The outcome of the trial will prove crucial in determining whether the flood gates [...]
Bernanke: do not rein in Fed March 17, 2010 THE US Federal Reserve should keep its powers to regulate banks of all sizes, chairman Ben Bernanke insisted yesterday. Fighting back against proposals that could see the central bank stripped of most of its supervisory powers, Bernanke argued the Fed’s duties to set interest rates and regulate lenders were closely connected. He told the House [...]
Memo to government: cut spending March 17, 2010 CUT spending as soon as the election is over: that is the resounding message from the City A.M./PHI panel, our unique gauge of opinion among London’s City, financial and business community. The news is good for the Tories – unlike the results of our last survey, which found that our panel favoured Ken Clarke against [...]
Chambers to leave LGIM March 17, 2010 THE chief executive of Legal & General Investment Management, the institutional giant which owns five per cent of the UK stockmarket, is to step down in September after nearly five years at the helm. Peter Chambers, 52, said he would spend a quiet summer with his family before leaving in the autumn. A successor has yet to [...]
Tories slip despite fightback March 17, 2010 The Conservatives are one per cent down at 36 per cent in today’s YouGov poll for The Sun, suggesting their attacks on Labour’s “new militant” tendencies and reliance on trade unions has done little to boost them. Labour’s support stays unchanged on 32 per cent while the Lib Dems are up one per cent to [...]
Nike smashes analyst forecasts March 17, 2010 Nike posted a net profit that beat analyst expectations yesterday, fuelled by fewer clearance sales of merchandise and improving sales around the world. The company’s shares jumped more than three per cent after it posted a six per cent gain on a constant currency basis in futures orders – delivery of goods to retailers through [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 17, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ITV SET TO ESCAPE RULES BUGBEAR ITV may be close to losing one of its most burdensome regulations after the government said it had powers to intervene in a long-running competition saga under a loophole in the law. City analysts believed the contract rights renewal (CRR) rules were certain to be a drag [...]
Adair Turner calls for limits on speculation March 17, 2010 THE chairman of Britain’s financial watchdog fired a fresh shot across the City’s bows last night, calling for tough limits on financial speculation by bank traders and hedge funds. Arguing for a dramatic break with three decades of conventional wisdom, Lord Turner advocated a tax on financial transactions and said proprietary traders should face strict [...]
