Consumer sentiment plummets as Italians fear deepening crisis May 23, 2012 CONSUMER confidence plummeted in Italy this month, official survey data showed yesterday, as the country continues to struggle through tough economic reforms. The confidence climate index fell from 88.8 to a record low of 86.5, according to statistics agency ISTAT. The drop was led by a fall in the economic climate component from 71.6 to [...]
MEPs demand transactions tax on European financial sector May 23, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of an EU-wide financial transactions tax (FTT) yesterday, with leading proponents arguing “the FTT is an integral part of an exit from crisis.” The tax, of 0.1 per cent on equity trades and 0.01 per cent on derivatives, was supported by 487 MEPs and opposed by 152. Finnish [...]
Ireland to invest €2bn in property May 23, 2012 Ireland’s “bad bank” plans to invest €2bn (£1.6bn) in building projects in an attempt to bolster jobs in the country’s property sector. NAMA, set up in 2009 to take property loans off the books of Ireland’s struggling banks, said it will plough cash into both half-finished projects and new builds with a focus on commercial [...]
Fears over bailout fund staff May 23, 2012 An external consulting firm charged with evaluating the structure of Europe’s new permanent rescue facility has raised questions about whether it will have enough staff to function effectively. In a 12 May letter addressed to Klaus Regling, the head of the bloc’s temporary rescue fund, partners at A.T. Kearney warn that the approved staff of [...]
EU members most open to trade May 23, 2012 EU member countries and their close partners in north and central Europe make up 12 of the 20 nations that are most open to international trade, according to the World Economic Forum. Its latest Enabling Trade Index puts the US at 23, down from 19 in 2010. Finland rose by six places to sixth place, [...]
Russian billionaires in High Court showdown May 23, 2012 A BATTLE between two Israeli-Russian billionaires over profits from the Angolan diamond industry kicked off yesterday in the High Court, with witnesses including a chief Rabbi and the former head of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Arkady Gaydamak is suing his ex-business partner Lev Leviev in an attempt to enforce an agreement that he claims was [...]
Robert Tchenguiz and allies owed £1.6bn to Kaupthing, fraud office tells the High Court May 23, 2012 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office has begun the defence of its actions following the controversial arrest of property tycoons Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz last year. SFO counsel James Eadie told the High Court that at the time of Kaupthing’s collapse Robert and companies connected to him owed the bank around £1.6bn. Robert Tchenguiz owned shares in Kaupthing as [...]
Buyout firms beat the slump to record major gains for 2011 May 23, 2012 THE INVESTMENTS made by private equity and venture capital firms have continued to outperform rival asset classes despite a turbulent year for the industry. The internal rate of return – the average annual return over each of the past ten years – hit 14.3 per cent in 2011, compared to 5.9 per cent for total [...]
Nationwide boosts mortgage lending and expands into SMEs May 23, 2012 BUILDING society Nationwide recorded a 10 per cent rise in profits to £304m during the year to April 2012 as it ramped up mortgage lending and retreated from commercial real estate. The mutual also said yesterday that it is planning to diversify into small business (SME) lending and will over time “develop and offer a full [...]
Paragon profit rises on return of buy-to-let May 23, 2012 INCREASED popularity of buy-to-let mortgages powered lender Paragon to a 13.4 per cent rise in profit to £44.8m for the six months to March. Chief executive Nigel Terrington told City A.M. he is “delighted” that the profit growth was driven by improved revenues rather than cost-cutting. “For the first time since the credit crunch [the buy-to-let] balance sheet [...]
