As doubts grow about a BAE-EADS merger, could it prove a danger to national interests? September 18, 2012 YES Ben Wallace As things stand, the UK government is going to be asked to approve a deal that sees the majority of Britain’s defence industrial base being taken over by a company half-owned by the German, French and Spanish states, with a headquarters in France, and a German chief executive. All the big defence [...]
Rapid Responses September 18, 2012 Occupy a year on [Re: One year after the start of Occupy Wall Street, has the movement had any positive impact?, yesterday] Sam Bowman is correct that the Occupy Movement asked the right questions about the close relationship between big business and governments. But its answers weren’t always asinine. There was a strong free market [...]
Twenty-four carat case for gold September 18, 2012 AS WARREN Buffett famously said: “You can’t eat gold.” But US dollars are not particularly nutritious either and neither are pounds sterling. However, the amount of food you can buy with your gold is steadily increasing, and has been for the last decade; whereas what you can buy with a wallet full of fiat currency [...]
Central bankers finally deliver September 18, 2012 MUCH has happened since Lehman collapsed four years ago: three rounds of easing from the Fed, four from the Bank of England, five Eurozone bailouts, two waves of bond purchase programmes and two rounds of long-term refinancing operations from the European Central Bank (ECB). The result is that G7 policy rates are at or near [...]
Accounting for a disruptive future September 18, 2012 Professionals should consider the broader shifts in businesses THE future is unwritten,” said the late, great punk prophet Joe Strummer. But this message could equally have come from a business futurologist. Whatever the source, every business in every sector has a responsibility to start planning the opening chapters for their future development and growth. Finance [...]
This Cee’d is a dad-car with bite September 18, 2012 Fatherhood is far from dull, except when it comes to motoring. First, you have to get a car with at least four seats, rather than two. Then, your primary considerations are how much stuff it can carry and how economical it is. Perhaps the Volvo 240 epitomised this best: the squarest car of all time, [...]
Car Talk September 18, 2012 Smart Forstars coupé concept goes on display Smart is introducing this electrically-driven Smart Forstars coupé concept at next week’s Paris motor show. The car seats two passengers, has a glass roof above – hence the name – and has a video projector in the bonnet, which is certain never to make production. What is interesting [...]
Miners and financials fall on the FTSE 100 September 18, 2012 The blue chip index sank in early trading, as headline mining and financial shares pulled it down. Electrical connections provider Volex was down by more than 30 per cent in early trading as it announced it expects full-year profit and revenue to fall short of expectations. Miners Ferrexpo and Eurasian fell by 4.68 per cent [...]
Inflation drops to 2.5 per cent in August September 18, 2012 Inflation fell to 2.5 per cent in August, spurred by a fall in the price of gas, household equipment and clothing, according to official data out this morning from the Office for National Statistics. The Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation, fell to from 2.6 per cent in July. It was partially offset by a [...]
Fortescue agrees $4.5bn debt respite September 18, 2012 Australia-focused Fortescue Metals Group has agreed a $4.5bn (£2.7bn) debt facility, as it moved to shore up its balance sheet in the wake of falling iron ore prices. The debt, underwritten by Credit Suisse and JP Morgan, gives the Perth-based company until November 2015 to make its first repayment. “Fortescue has moved quickly to ensure [...]
