Tepco asks for public money March 30, 2011 TOKYO Electric Power Company (Tepco) asked for government funding yesterday as it admitted that it would not be able to fund a clean-up at its stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Tepco said it wanted to remain a publicly-listed company, but added that emergency loans of 2 trillion yen (£15bn) from the country’s banks were not [...]
INDICES RISE BUT SO DOES UNCERTAINTY March 28, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT IT HAS been just over two weeks since Japan was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, yet most major stock indices are already trading back at pre-crisis levels. This is despite the huge reconstruction costs faced by the country which have been estimated to be anywhere between 4 and 16 [...]
Pressure on Gaddafi rises March 28, 2011 GADDAFI “must go immediately”, David Cameron and French president Nicolas Sarkozy declared yesterday in a joint statement, adding: “We call on all his followers to leave him before it is too late.” The statement came a day before 40 foreign ministers meet for a summit in London today to discuss the Libyan war. Cameron and [...]
Nato to back no-fly zone March 24, 2011 NATO states yesterday agreed to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya but stopped short of taking control of military air strikes as discussion raged over who would lead the operation. Battles between anti-regime rebels and dictator Gaddafi’s forces in Benghazi, Misrata and Ajdabiyah continued yesterday, but Nato secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance’s mandate [...]
We must act fast and decisively to save Libya’s rebels March 17, 2011 YET again, we are at war. By the time this newspaper hits the streets this morning, airstrikes against Libya may already have started, led by the UK, France and perhaps others, including the US, members of the Arab League, and Canada. Just after 10:30pm last night, the United Nations Security Council voted 10-0, with five [...]
China halts nuclear plant programme March 16, 2011 CHINA slapped a moratorium on all nuclear plant development yesterday, announcing a full-scale safety review of the world’s biggest nuclear programme. “We will temporarily suspend approval of nuclear power projects, including those in the preliminary stages of development, before nuclear safety regulations are approved,” said the state council, or cabinet, in a statement. The suspension [...]
Fears of Irish default grow over tax row March 14, 2011 THE cost of Ireland’s debt continued to rise to all-time Eurozone highs yesterday, putting pressure on new Prime Minister Enda Kenny to secure less punitive rates on its €85bn (£73.5bn) bailout despite demands that the country raise its low 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate in return for any relief. The corporate tax issue moved [...]
Don’t blame speculators for soaring food prices February 14, 2011 Experts often tell us that retail investors should steer well clear of speculating in the soft commodities market. It’s too risky, they warn, with too many variables for the average private investor to make a fully informed choice. Chuck in a splash of unpredictable weather and a dash of political interference, and it’s all too [...]
Investors back Thales despite €100m loss February 14, 2011 Investors shrugged off a profit warning from French defence company Thales as its chief executive lashed out at previous management for handing him a legacy of flawed contracts and cost overruns. Europe’s largest defence electronics company is to post an operating loss of close to €100m (£84.5m) for 2010 after higher-than-expected charges linked to problems [...]
IMF calls for overhaul of global monetary system February 10, 2011 International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has called for a greater role for China’s yuan currency as part of a broad-based overhaul of the international monetary system. In a speech at the IMF, Strauss-Kahn said adding emerging market countries’ currencies, such as the yuan, to a basket of currencies that the IMF administers could add [...]