France speeds up older retirement November 6, 2011 A new wave of 2012 budget saving measures designed to help France meet its deficit reduction targets will include speeding up its higher retirement age. Last week, France lowered its growth projections for next year to one per cent from 1.7 per cent – raising the need for further belt-tightening measures by the centre-right government [...]
UK may give £40bn to IMF November 6, 2011 BRITAIN could hand a staggering £40bn of taxpayers’ cash to the IMF without getting backing from Parliament, Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, revealed yesterday. That means the coalition would be able to help bail out countries such as Greece by increasing its IMF contributions without fear of being defeated in the Commons [...]
ECB could stop buying Italy’s bonds November 6, 2011 THE European Central Bank (ECB) has discussed the possibility of ending the purchase of Italian government bonds if it concludes Italy is not adopting promised reforms, ECB governing council member Yves Mersch has said. “If we observe that our interventions are undermined by a lack of efforts by national governments then we have to pose [...]
Euro split may cost less than feared November 6, 2011 THE cost of a break-up of the Eurozone could cost the UK far less than has been feared, according to new research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). It estimates that an immediate exit by Greece would cause the Eurozone economy as a whole to contract by an additional two per cent, [...]
TUI renegotiates contracts in drachma November 6, 2011 GERMAN travel operator TUI Travel has already written to Greek hotel proprietors, asking them to explain how they would plan to honour payment obligations if Greece were to leave the Euro. TUI confirmed reports in German newspaper Das Bild that it was renegotiating contracts to protect it from a switch back to the drachma, whose [...]
SNB ready to weaken franc November 6, 2011 THE Swiss National Bank is ready to take further measures to weaken the Swiss franc if the economic outlook and deflationary development make it necessary, its chairman said yesterday in a newspaper interview. “The franc is still highly valued versus the euro at the current exchange rate. We expect it to weaken further over time,” [...]
Carphone will sell its stake in US venture November 6, 2011 CARPHONE Warehouse (CPW) is set to announce a major overhaul of its tie-up with Best Buy, including shuttering a string of UK stores and selling its stake in its US joint venture for almost $1bn (£620m). The British firm will finally pull the plug on 11 super-sized “Big Box” electrical retailers when it posts its [...]
Exchanges cut margins to stop MF Global calls November 6, 2011 TWO major US futures exchanges have cut the initial margin that speculators must hold against futures trades, to avoid market instability as traders scramble to cover positions transferred out of the bankrupt broker MF Global. Exchange owner CME Group said it would set its initial margin upcharge at zero, lowering the risk of widespread margin [...]
Italian job a rare piece of G20 progress November 6, 2011 POLITICIANS adore pomp and ceremony, yet last week’s sight of grinning world leaders lining up for their grand group photograph in Cannes seemed somewhat inappropriate. While the glamorous French seaside town may be used to film stars coveting the limelight, on this occasion one may have expected a little more humility and even embarrassment from [...]
World leaders kick the Cannes down the road November 6, 2011 DIPLOMATS are useful only in fair weather. As soon as it rains they drown in every drop”. So said France’s most famous post-war leader Charles de Gaulle. So in my analysis of the G20 in Cannes, let me start by telling you the heavens were fully open from start to finish. Cannes was wetter than [...]
