Fed to keep interest rates on hold again April 25, 2010 A GROWING economy, a rising stock market, and rising employment suggests that normality is returning to the United States. Indeed, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, appeared notably upbeat about the economy earlier this month. The US economy is forecast to grow at an annualised 3.5 per cent in the first quarter – [...]
Markets crave clarity over economic strategy April 25, 2010 SO A LITTLE disappointing but in the end there was something for everyone in Friday’s GDP numbers. We looked for 0.4 per cent for the first quarter and got 0.2 per cent. You’d think that would be bad for Gordon Brown but he revelled in his line that this proved the recovery was fragile and [...]
Corporate donations to US political parties under fire April 25, 2010 DEMOCRATS in the US Congress plan to unveil tough proposals this week to counter a Supreme Court ruling that allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts on elections. President Barack Obama, who took the unusual step of publicly criticising the ruling in his State of the Union address in January, has warned it will give corporations [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT WILL THE FED DO THIS WEEK? April 25, 2010 PAUL DALES | CAPITAL ECONOMICS “It is doubtful that the Fed will get any closer to dropping its pledge to keep rates exceptionally low for ‘an extended period’ at the two-day meeting that concludes this Wednesday. In fact, we continue to think that the Fed will keep rates on hold until at least 2012.” PHILIP [...]
Rich List shows huge swing back to wealth April 25, 2010 THE RICHEST people in the country saw an astonishing reversal in fortunes this year as their collective wealth rocketed more than £77bn. The annual Rich List compiled by the Sunday Times shows the super-wealthy managed to more than claw back losses made during the dark depths of the global recession. The wealth of the 1,000 [...]
Ash crisis sees the capital lose £100m April 25, 2010 LONDON has lost up to £100m from tourist spending as a result of the six-day flight disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption. Visit London, the online tourism website, said yesterday that visitors arriving by air would have spent up to £17m a day in the city but that the airspace closure caused London an [...]
Lloyds and Och Ziff hedge fund plan to sell their Vue stake April 25, 2010 LLOYDS, the UK state-backed bank, and US hedge fund Och Ziff are considering selling their 48 per cent holding in Vue Enertainment. The cinema chain is part of Lloyd’s integrated finance portfolio, made up of stakes in 43 companies, which it inherited when it bought HBOS in 2008. Lloyds plans to sell the portfolio to [...]
Dyson set to invest in engineers April 25, 2010 DYSON, the company founded by extrovert entrepreneur James Dyson, has bucked the recessionary trend and decided to double the number of engineers it employs. The appliances manufacturer will hire 350 new engineers, bringing its total to 700. It is part of the company’s plans to increase research and development (R&D) investment during the recession. The [...]
Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce drives into a 60 per cent annual sales rise April 25, 2010 LUXURY carmaker Rolls-Royce has reported a 60 per cent worldwide surge in sales for its first quarter, with more than treble the demand from China compared to this time last year. Proving that the world’s wealthiest are already shrugging off the recession, sales in the Asia-Pacific region doubled, and there was substantial growth in the [...]
BP scrambles to plug Gulf of Mexico leak April 25, 2010 AN oil spillage of 1,000 barrels per day is leaking from BP’s well in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Coast Guard said, days after a deadly explosion sank the offshore Deepwater Horizon rig. The energy giant was last night scrambling to plug the leak, which is emanating 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the sea. [...]
