Spain tries to bolster faith in its economy May 23, 2010 SPAIN will not bow to union pressure and revise a €15bn (£13bn) austerity plan, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero said yesterday. “I know there are protests by those who do not share them (government views), like the unions, but we will not change,” Zapatero told his Socialist party in Elche, southeast Spain. His comments [...]
Bank of Spain takes control of CajaSur after merger talks fail May 23, 2010 THE Bank of Spain took over the running of Spanish savings bank CajaSur this weekend after its planned merger with another of the country’s small lenders failed. CajaSur will now have access to the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB), the Bank of Spain said in a statement. “This action, which we have taken as [...]
Wall Street poised for turbulent week as Eurozone woes take hold May 23, 2010 VOLATILITY will be the name of the game on Wall Street this week as uncertainty over the Eurozone debt crisis remains and investors will need nerves of steel to make bets on risky assets like stocks. The Standard & Poor 500 index’s drop last week of 10 per cent from recent highs meant the benchmark [...]
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FTSE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR? May 23, 2010 JAMES HUGHES | CMC MARKETS “I do not see the market ending the year below 5,000 unless there is a dramatic change in the situation with the euro. There are obviously deep problems at the moment but they will have to be sorted out and the market will bounce back. It’s certainly going to be [...]
Rollercoaster ride facing markets as deficit bites May 23, 2010 THE benchmark FTSE 100 Index is facing months of uncertainty as it takes a battering from the spiralling UK debt and an ill wind blowing from Europe, according to City experts. Markets were hit by huge losses last week as politicians failed to provide concrete plans to deal with the sovereign debt crisis which has [...]
US threatens to kick BP off spill clean-up May 23, 2010 US OFFICIALS have warned they could remove BP from efforts to seal the well currently spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico, if the oil giant doesn’t do enough to plug the leak. Ken Salazar, the US interior secretary, said yesterday that the US government is becoming increasingly frustrated and angry that BP has missed [...]
BT boss Livingston in £1m bonus boon May 23, 2010 BT is set to anger its unions this week with the announcement that bonuses for its top executives have tripled. In its annual report, due on Wednesday, Britain’s biggest phone company will reveal chief executive Ian Livingston was awarded about £1m – up from £343,000 last year. He also received a £808,000 salary. Meanwhile Gavin [...]
US presses China on trade ahead of a key meeting on the economy May 23, 2010 THE US yesterday pressed China to give “fair access” for foreign companies, and China stressed the risks both economies face from Europe’s debt woes, ahead of top-level talks in Beijing. Speaking a day before the start of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of US [...]
Little value in employee law May 23, 2010 MANY employment laws have little value and should be repealed or amended, a report out today claims. As the new government reviews flexible working rules, the report by business advisers KPMG and human resources group CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) claims that one in four companies offer no more than the legal minimum [...]
Olswang to ditch lockstep pay May 23, 2010 OLSWANG is set to join a handful of law firms by overhauling its associate pay structure and moving away from the traditional lockstep model. From September, the London based legal outfit will move associate remuneration to a model that will connect pay with performance, shifting away from the historical model of linking pay to number [...]
