FOREX FLASH November 17, 2009 Bank fuels new high for the poundSterling hit its highest level in a year against the US dollar yesterday after Bank of England MPC member Andrew Sentance said in a speech on Monday night that he believed the UK had emerged from recession and that loose monetary policy cannot continue indefinitely. Mark O’Sullivan at Currencies [...]
US and China hit wall over yuan debate November 17, 2009 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama is due to visit The Great Wall of China today – but at the end of his tour of the region it seems the stumbling block of China’s currency is just as tough to surmount. Obama yesterday urged China to let its yuan currency rise in value at a summit where [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MOBILE MAKERS ACT TO CURB FAKE PHONESThe global mobile phone industry is trying to rein in the rapid worldwide spread of illegitimate handsets by introducing a stricter regime for the allocation of handset identification numbers. The move comes as unlicensed Chinese handset manufacturers have started flooding the world market with exports in a [...]
Copper looks red hot for next year November 15, 2009 COPPER’S status as a widely used industrial metal meant it was always going to do well in 2009. Restocking, East Asian growth and growing confidence in the global economic recovery saw the price of the red metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rise to as high as $6,700 a tonne earlier in the year. [...]
US and China are set in spending and saving habits November 15, 2009 Alistair Darling has played host to the world’s most important money men (and women) a few times already this year, most recently in his native Scotland, but he might be forgiven for feeling a bit envious as the world looks to where the really important decisions are being made this week: at the Singapore meeting [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 12, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES NATIONAL EXPRESS FACES EUROSTAR BILLNational Express could be saddled with a bill of up to £32m to cover losses made by Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail service. The indebted transport group, which gives up its lossmaking East Coast rail franchise tonight, is the leading shareholder in a consortium that manages the UK end of [...]
Reassurance on UK growth boosts the blue chip index November 11, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed higher yesterday, as risk appetite received a boost after reassuring signals on the UK economy, and with miners the biggest gainers after a jump in Chinese factory growth. The FTSE 100 index ended 36.20 points higher, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,266.75, having touched a high of 5,301.14 earlier in [...]
China data pulls up Dow and S&P 500 November 11, 2009 THE Dow and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed at 13-month highs last night as an upbeat forecast from a top homebuilder and data from China pointed to a strengthening global economy. The Dow’s advance was its sixth straight as comments from top Federal Reserve officials suggesting low interest rates will stay for some [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 10, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES GM CHIEF PROMISES CASH FOR NEW-LOOK OPELGeneral Motors yesterday promised a more independent Opel and vowed to support its European unit with fresh money as the US carmaker tried to calm the fury sparked by last week’s decision to keep the unit. Fritz Henderson, head of GM, spoke after a series of meetings [...]
VW becomes world’s biggest carmaker November 9, 2009 CARMAKER Volkswagen-Porsche yesterday overtook rival Toyota as the world’s biggest car manufacturer, boosted by state-backed “cash-for-bangers” stimuli worldwide. VW, which makes family cars like the Golf and Polo, and luxury vehicles like the Boxster, has made 4.4m cars this year so far, pipping Toyota, which has made 4m, to the post as top manufacturer. VW [...]