EC wants ING repayment September 25, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) wants ING to commit to lay out a firm plan to repay €3bn (£2.39bn) of the bailout money it received from the Dutch government in 2008, it emerged yesterday. The bank was bailed out to the tune of €10bn in the financial crisis, but has only paid back €7bn of those [...]
Euro sinks after German firms’ morale worsens September 25, 2012 THE EURO tumbled against the dollar yesterday after a widely regarded measure of business confidence suggested that the single currency’s largest economy could be heading for recession. Germany’s Ifo Institute revealed that its latest business climate index declined for the fifth straight month in September. Coming in at 101.4, down from 102.3 in August, the [...]
Portugal mulls higher income tax in bid to control its deficit September 25, 2012 PORTUGAL’S government yesterday threatened it would have to hike income taxes after bowing to increasing pressure from protesters to scrap increases in workers’ social security payments. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said his administration is forced to find ways to achieve budget targets that are conditions of the debt-burdened country’s ongoing bailout programme. “As long [...]
Brussels will lure private cash to bulk up bailout mechanism September 25, 2012 GERMANY’S government yesterday played down reports that Europe’s new rescue fund could be leveraged four-fold to €2 trillion. Yet a spokesman acknowledged that discussions were underway in Brussels on giving the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) certain instruments to lure private investors and thus boost the fund. German weekly Der Spiegel BY CITY A.M. REPORTER reported [...]
Michel Barnier calls for a tough crackdown in the wake of Libor September 25, 2012 EUROPEAN commissioner Michel Barnier called for jail terms for interest rate manipulators yesterday, while a top US regulator called for the benchmark interest rate to be based on real transactions, not estimates. Barnier told a European parliament hearing that “an EUwide ban on manipulation” would “get rid of this ‘everything is allowed’ attitude.” “Any manipulation [...]
Greeks deny €20bn finance hole September 25, 2012 ■ The Greek government yesterday denied that it would need to plug a €20bn gap in its finances to appease international bailout lenders – a claim made in German magazine Der Spiegel. In a briefing note the government said that its shortfall would be dealt with by austerity measures that are currently being finalised. Negotiations [...]
Van Rompuy calls for progress September 25, 2012 ■ Economic reform programmes across Europe must be continued with renewed vigour, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy insisted yesterday. The European Union can not afford to be complacent even as the 27-nation bloc makes progress building a framework to protect itself from financial shocks, the senior Brussels official said in a video published on [...]
Italy needs long-term efforts September 25, 2012 ■ Mario Monti’s technocrat Italian government has laid the base for a reform effort that must be pursued for many years if Italy is to emerge from stagnation, the top economist of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday. “As OECD chief economist, the message is to carry on with the reforms,” [...]
Retailers say mobile commerce is driving high street renaissance September 25, 2012 HIGH street stores are seeing rising sales driven by mobile commerce, with £1 in every £10 spent coming via a mobile channel, according to research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) released today. The report, conducted by the CEBR on behalf of software company Netsuite, said that mobile sales – including purchases [...]
Bango lifted by mobile tie-up with Facebook September 25, 2012 SHARES in British mobile payments firm Bango soared yesterday as it launched a tie-up with Facebook to let the social network’s users make purchases on smartphones. The service, which allows people to purchase extra content on Facebook – such as game extensions and virtual gifts – and charge it to their monthly network bill, will [...]
