Eurozone inflation eases July 16, 2012 A sharp fall in energy prices helped cool consumer prices in the eurozone in June and gave the European Central Bank space to cut interest rates this month to try to revive the economy, but stagnant imports highlighted the depth of the downturn. Consumer inflation in the 17-nation euro zone was 2.4 per cent in [...]
Government confirms £9.4bn rail package July 16, 2012 The government on Monday announced a £9.4bn railway infrastructure investment package. The package covers the period between 2014 and 2019 and includes 4.2bn of new projects, Britain’s transport department said in a statement. The new projects include a passenger and freight corridor linking the east and west midlands and Yorkshire with the south of England, [...]
G4S leads FTSE lower July 16, 2012 The FTSE 100 was led down by security giant G4S in early trading as the company’s failure to fulfil an Olympic security contract continued to take its toll. G4S retreated by more than eight per cent this morning as chief executive Nick Buckles came under increasing pressure over the fiasco. The world’s second-largest private sector [...]
Billionaires seek sale of TNK-BP July 16, 2012 The billionaire co-owners of Anglo-Russian oil venture TNK-BP would be willing to sell their stake to British oil major BP for cash and stock to put an end to a bitter shareholder conflict. That was the position presented by Mikhail Fridman, one of the quartet of investors who own half of Russia’s third-largest oil company [...]
National Grid slams energy regulator July 16, 2012 National Grid, Britain’s biggest energy distributor, said proposals by the UK regulator Ofgem to fund the upgrade of the country’s gas and electricity network were flawed. National Grid said that Ofgem’s £22bn initial plan to make Britain’s transmission networks more sustainable differed substantially from its own business plan. “We believe that these initial proposals will [...]
PTT extends Cove offer for third time July 16, 2012 Thai oil firm PTT Exploration and Production extended for a third time the deadline for investors to accept its $1.9bn (£1.2bn) offer for gas explorer Cove Energy on Monday, as the battle with rival suitor Shell nears a conclusion. Analysts had expected PTT to extend its offer as investors wait to see what Shell will [...]
LIBOR CRISIS SPREADS July 15, 2012 LLOYDS became the latest UK bank to be dragged into the ongoing Libor scandal over the weekend, after the New York Fed made public emails sent by Barclays staff to the US authorities that accuse Lloyds of entering false Libor submissions in mid-2007. A swathe of previously unseen documents also show Bank of England governor [...]
Barclays director who led Libor fixing to face MPs July 15, 2012 JERRY del Missier, the Barclays executive who instructed traders to reduce the bank’s Libor rate submissions, will today attempt to explain his actions to MPs. He will be joined in front of the House of Commons Treasury select committee by three leading officials at the Financial Services Authority (FSA), including Lord Turner, who raised concerns [...]
London homes still horribly expensive for first time buyers July 15, 2012 FIRST, the good news: the housing market is becoming less unaffordable for young people across the UK. The average price paid by a first-time buyer in June was affordable for someone on average earnings in 54 per cent of all UK local authority districts, the highest proportion for 10 years, according to the Halifax. At [...]
Government to announce £9bn railway scheme July 15, 2012 LONDON will gain an electrified railway service to Sheffield and plans to reopen the line between Oxford and Cambridge will take a step forward as part of a £9bn rail funding package that the government is expected to announce today. Transport secretary Justine Greening will unveil a UK rail investment plan for 2014-2019 that includes [...]
