Spain’s unions to strike over austerity cuts May 13, 2010 SPAIN’S two biggest unions will stage a one-day public sector strike to protest against wage cuts aimed at bringing the budget deficit under control and preventing Spain following Greece’s path. The unions held almost three hours of talks with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero yesterday to discuss his austerity plan, announced yesterday under pressure [...]
ECB insists no risk from bond buying May 13, 2010 THE European Central Bank’s programme of buying Eurozone government bonds carries no inflation risks, governing council member Marko Kranjec said yesterday. “Current risks for inflation are balanced… These actions are clear monetary financing, which will be sterilised at the same time. I don’t see any danger of inflation pressures,” Kranjec said. Eurozone central banks started [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK THE RISK OF DEBT CONTAGION IS A REALITY? May 13, 2010 SIAN THOMAS | AVIVA “The contagion is likely to spread because most of Europe is dominated by one currency. Naturally this can be offset by addressing the problem with the necessary measures, but you hope the situation isn’t severe enough that it will affect other countries.” BILL COX | CAPAX GLOBAL “The situation in Greece [...]
Trade deficit widens after import surge May 13, 2010 BRITAIN’S trade deficit disappointingly widened again in March, driven by a surge in imports, official data showed yesterday, dampening hopes that net trade will give first quarter GDP an extra boost. The deficit of traded goods rose to £7.5bn from £6.3bn the month before as imports excluding oil jumped five per cent month-on-month in March. [...]
US foreclosure activities see first drop in four years May 13, 2010 FORECLOSURE activity fell in April by nine per cent from March and two per cent from a year ago, RealtyTrac said yesterday. This was the first year-on-year drop since RealtyTrac started tracking annual foreclosure rates in January 2006. “What we’re really seeing is the effect of lenders slowing down the initial notices of default while [...]
CML sees fewer repossessions and arrears May 13, 2010 FEWER Britons saw their homes repossessed in the first quarter of 2010 and the number of mortgages in arrears also dropped, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. But it warned that there was no room for complacency in what remains a highly vulnerable housing market. The number of repossessions was 9,800, [...]
Tullett tipped for MBO after bid talks end May 13, 2010 ANALYSTS said Tullett Prebon is ripe for a private equity-backed management buyout yesterday after the inter-dealer broker said a trade sale was off. The FTSE 250 outfit said discussions with a mystery third party, announced in March, had been “constructive” but agreement on the terms of an offer had been impossible. Shares in Tullett tanked [...]
Lifelong ban for boiler room lawyer upheld May 13, 2010 LAWYER Andrew Greystoke will never work in finance again after a ruling he aided a boiler-room share scam was upheld yesterday. The Atlantic Law partner is said to have “recklessly” signed off approval of 50 UK investment advertisements issued by unregulated Spanish stockbroking firms. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said it would have been “blindingly [...]
ENRC ramps up output to meet demand May 13, 2010 KAZAKH miner ENRC has recorded a big jump in first-quarter output following a rebound in demand for stainless steel. Ferrochrome production, which is used as a component in stainless steel, climbed a massive 70 per cent to 345,000 tonnes. The company also said revenue for the three months to 31 March had “increased significantly” on [...]
Stan Chart first to list in India May 13, 2010 STANDARD Chartered yesterday become the first foreign company to list in India. It hopes to raise around £500m through an Indian Depositary Receipts (IDR) scheme – the equivalent of a listing. The terms of the deal states that 10 IDRs are equivalent to one share. It will allow Indian nationals, who are barred from owning [...]
