TOP THINK-TANK: RECESSION OVER September 8, 2009 BRITAIN’S economy has finally started to grow again, according to data published yesterday by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), one of the UK’s most respected forecasters. The NIESR figures showed that GDP rose by an estimated 0.2 per cent in the three months to August, the first time it has risen [...]
Dresdner staff launch bonus fight September 8, 2009 FORMER employees of Dresdner Bank have launched a sensational legal bid for €33m (£29m) in bonuses they claim were guaranteed by the bank but never paid. The group of 72 staff say they were entitled to a share of a €400m “retention pool” created in response to the Financial Services Authority’s concern that hiving off [...]
Housing market no longer over-valued September 8, 2009 AT this rate, City A.M. will soon be able to ditch the “Beating the Blues” puff we run every day on our front page. We introduced it during the depth of the recession to emphasise that even though the economy was going to hell in a hand-basket, and life had become truly grim for our [...]
RBS plots sale of aviation unit September 8, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) has hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for RBS Aviation Capital, the aircraft-leasing unit that the bank hopes to dispose of as part of chief executive Stephen Hester’s efforts to streamline the firm. The unit has assets worth $8bn (£4.8bn), but would fetch far less due to falling demand [...]
UKrating cut is unlikely September 8, 2009 MOODY’S is today expected to say that it is unlikely to cut the UK’s all-important triple-A credit rating due to the growing agreement among politicians on the need to cut the budget deficit. Alistair Darling yesterday said he “wouldn’t flinch from difficult decisions” to tackle government debt, after shadow chancellor George Osborne warned Britain risked [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES SCRUTINY THREATENS SUCCESS OF BAIKAL, SAYS LSERegulatory scrutiny over “dark pools” and the failure of most such platforms in Europe to make money mean that Baikal, the London Stock Exchange’s planned platform, “might not work”, says Xavier Rolet, LSE chief executive. “It’s not impossible that it might not work,” Rolet said. He said [...]
Pension shortfalls top 1 trillion September 8, 2009 Pension liabilities of the UK’s defined benefit pension schemes have topped the £1 trillion mark for the first time . The shortfall in the 7,400 schemes, including final salary pensions, widened from £18.1bn at the end of July to £173.2bn in August the Pension Protection Fund said. The level has fluctuated in recent months but [...]
Ashtead optimistic on future September 8, 2009 Industrial equipment rental firm Ashtead yesterday said it was optimistic of meeting analysts’ expectations of £12.5m pre-tax profits for the full year – despite posting a 77 per cent drop in profits. Chief executive Geoff Drabble said the group was over the worst of the downturn, and it would not have to launch rescue refinancing [...]
Kraft flexes its muscles in Cadbury fight September 8, 2009 KRAFT Foods chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld yesterday hinted the US food giant is ready to get tough in its bid to take over Cadbury, a day after the chocolate maker rejected its initial £10.2bn indicative offer. Rosenfeld told US analysts in a conference call that Kraft “has been and will continue to be [...]
Darling says government is ready to cut public spending September 8, 2009 THE government is ready to make “tough choices” on public spending, chancellor Alistair Darling said yesterday, in the clearest signal yet that Labour will reduce departmental expenditure to address the ballooning deficit. Speaking at a conference of business leaders in Cardiff, Darling said: “To cut spending now would kill off the recovery. But, when the [...]
