UK manufacturing falls as trade deficit widens October 9, 2012 British factory output dropped in August as the trade deficit widened, data showed today. Manufacturing output fell 1.1 per cent in August, following a bounce of 3.1 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. Meanwhile, Britain’s goods trade deficit widened to £9.8bn, as exports fell and oil imports rose. The [...]
IMF slashes Britain’s growth forecast October 9, 2012 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) this morning slashed Britain’s growth forecast to -0.4 per cent for 2012, as it said the global economic recovery is weakening. The IMF said the economy would expand at a modest rate of 1.1 per cent next year, from its previous forecast of 1.4 per cent. It downgraded global growth [...]
Julius Baer to cut jobs after takeover October 9, 2012 Swiss private bank Julius Baer said this morning it will cut jobs as a result of its purchase of part of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s wealth management business. Baer said this morning it will set out “targeted profitability improvement measures”, including a “significant reduction of former Bank of America corporate overhead”. The Swiss bank [...]
Rio Tinto warns on volatile short-term outlook for copper October 9, 2012 Australian copper giant Rio Tinto this morning warned that the short-term outlook for copper remained volatile, but that it expected production of the base metal to increase. The miner said in a statement that copper production will increase from 2013 thanks to improving grades at existing mines, and the start of production at the Oyu [...]
Barclays to acquire ING Direct October 9, 2012 Barclays this morning announced it is buying the deposits, mortgages and business assets from Dutch bank ING Direct as it looks to expand its retail banking operations. ING Direct, which wants to exit the UK retail banking market, said the move was part of a review of its strategic options for its UK business. Barclays [...]
Swap rights for company shares October 8, 2012 BUSINESS leaders last night raised doubts about the government’s plan to let employers opt out of large chunks of employment law in return for handing workers shares in their firm. Chancellor George Osborne yesterday told the Conservative party conference in Birmingham that the government is targeting an April 2013 launch date for the “employee-ownership” scheme, [...]
Shareholder unrest grows over BAE deal October 8, 2012 BAE SYSTEMS’ largest shareholder yesterday spoke out to oppose the defence group’s £30bn merger with EADS, with sources suggesting that it would seek an overhaul of the group’s board if the deal failed. “The relationship between the two has completely and utterly broken down,” said one source, “so you would expect there to be consequences.” [...]
Boris uses fringe speech to pledge loyalty to PM October 8, 2012 BORIS Johnson last night staged a rapturous election rally at the Conservative party conference, pledging his loyalty to David Cameron while leaving no doubts as to his own popularity among Tory activists. Johnson entered the busy hall to a standing ovation as the slogan “Mission Imborisible” was displayed over footage of the Mayor of London’s [...]
Osborne’s employment incentives idea is no game changer October 8, 2012 FOR once, the government managed to unveil a policy yesterday that had not been pre-leaked. George Osborne’s latest plan combines two ideas: it seeks to better align staff and employer incentives; and to make the labour market more flexible. Employers will be able to make new job offers conditional on – and offer to existing [...]
What the other papers say this morning October 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES TNK-BP partner look to sell stake BP’s billionaire partners in TNK-BP say they want to sell or list their 50 per cent stake in the business, creating more uncertainty over the future of Russia’s third-largest oil producer. Total arm warns over inaccuracies Total Oil Trading, one of the largest groups of its kind, [...]
