German confidence falls as Eurozone crisis bites September 20, 2011 THE GERMAN economy is set to worsen, if the indicator of economic sentiment published yesterday by the Centre for European Economic Research is correct. Sentiment dropped 5.7 per cent in September compared with August. That is the seventh consecutive monthly fall in the Zew index, and takes it to -43.3 points, a level last seen [...]
S&P downgrades Italy while Greek aid talks drag on September 19, 2011 ITALY suffered a shock downgrade from Standard & Poor’s late last night, which the ratings agency blamed on the political squabbling that is preventing the government from reacting properly to its financial woes. S&P said the downgrade by one notch to A/A-1 also comes with a negative outlook, warning that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s austerity [...]
Lloyds begins hunt for new finance chief September 19, 2011 LLOYDS has kicked off the search to replace its chief financial officer Tim Tookey after he quit to move back into the insurance industry at Friends Life. Tookey’s departure makes him the third executive to fall by the wayside during chief executive during Horta-Osório’s seven-month tenure, completing a clean-out of the executive board that was [...]
FTSE slumps as Greek default fears spark a flight from risk September 19, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading shares erased much of last week’s gain after concern Greece will baulk at the austerity cuts needed to secure fresh bailout cash, and instead nosedive into a disorderly default, prompted a flight from risk. Banks were among the worst-hit sectors yesterday as international lenders ratcheted up the pressure on Athens, saying it must [...]
THE TIPSTER September 19, 2011 ON the daily chart, Xstrata looks to be forming a bear flag which could be a signal for the next move lower. However, the bulls have done well to keep the stock supported around the £10 level as recently any dip below here has led to a bout of buying pushing it higher. Capital Spreads [...]
Get more out of exercise September 19, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT EXERCISE hit the headlines again last week: new research from Loughborough University found that it not only lowers levels of waistline-enemy ghrelin (an appetite-stimulating hormone), it also raises levels of peptide YY – one of the good guys that suppresses appetite. So if you’re looking to capitalise on the waistline benefits [...]
Pressure piled back on banks amid Eurozone gloom September 19, 2011 World markets slumped today as the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis appeared to be deepening as German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a regional election defeat which undermined her power. With the world looking to Germany to help steer the Eurozone out of stormy economic waters the confidence of investors was sapped. Meanwhile a series of meetings [...]
Targeted charity could save cash September 18, 2011 Huge social issues blighting Britain can best be solved by well-targeted philanthropy, claims study out today from Barclays Wealth and think-tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC). The report identifies three categories of social problem costing the taxpayer £100bn per year: children with conduct problems and the crimes they commit in later life; adults out of work [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 18, 2011 American Appraisal The global valuation firm has appointed Emily Hadley as director and head of its debt advisory practice in the UK to advise banking, loan servicing, hedge fund and corporate clients on their debt structures. Hadley joins from Barclays Capital Mortgage Servicing, where she was vice president of special servicing. Prior to Barclays Capital, [...]
Banks breathe new life into markets September 16, 2011 Markets across Europe regained their footing today as moves by Eurozone chiefs to provide more liquidity buoyed banking stocks. Five central banks yesterday released potentially unlimited dollar liquidity to breathe new life into flagging world markets. A meeting today between US Treasury Secretary and European finance ministers to discuss leveraging the bloc’s bailout fund was [...]