Standard & Poor’s cuts ratings on 18 Italian banks citing prolonged high cost of funding July 24, 2013 Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has cut its ratings on 18 Italian banks, citing increased industry risks from a sustained higher cost of funding than in most other eurozone banking markets. It added that it doesn’t see Italy’s downward per capita GDP trend reversing in 2014. The rating cuts complete a review initiated after S&P [...]
Hollande subject to further ridicule as French jobless claims hits record high July 24, 2013 The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in France shot to a record high of 3.279m in June – up 11.2 per cent from the year before and half a percentage point from May 2013. This will be a blow for French president Francois Hollande who infamously said earlier this month that “the economic recovery [...]
Network Rail chief executive to quit at crucial transition point July 24, 2013 Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins is expected to step down next year, according to reports from a Sky News editor. EXCLUSIVE: Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins expected to step down next year. Only been in job since 2011. Full story up soon. — Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) July 24, 2013 Higgins has [...]
Main street versus Wall Street: A mixed bag of corporate earnings July 24, 2013 Last week, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that main street is doing better than Wall Street. Judging by today’s second quarter corporate results coming out of the US this afternoon, he could have a point. PepsiCo reported a 35 per cent boost in net income to $2.01bn, or $1.28 per share, up from 94 [...]
There will be a woman on our notes – Bank of England confirms Jane Austen will be on the £10 July 24, 2013 The Bank of England has confirmed that Jane Austen will feature on the next £10 note, due to be introduced in 2016. She replaces Charles Darwin. We'll be waiting just under a year for a (non-Royal) woman on our cash, as Sir Winston Churchill replaces Elizabeth Fry on the £5 issue. The image of Austen [...]
Member of German opposition party says joint euro debt inevitable July 24, 2013 The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) may have lost a few more fans after its candidate for chancellor Peer Steinbrueck’s chief economic policy adviser said the introduction of some form of joint European debt liability to resolve the eurozone crisis would be inevitable. The SPD is the second major party in Germany next to Angela [...]
US new home sales jump to five year high July 24, 2013 New home sales are up in the US, rising from 0.459m (revised from 0.476m) to 0.497m in July. Economists had forecast an increase to just 0.485m. That's an 8.3 per cent change, up from 1.3 per cent last month. This comes after existing US home sales missed on Monday.
Greece missing just one requirement for next aid tranche July 24, 2013 Following yesterday’s news that the latest tranche of Greek aid was to be delayed after the country failed to confirm five of the 22 conditions required, the Eurogroup of finance ministers has said Greece has met 21 of the conditions and it is possible the final one will be met tomorrow. The condition yet to [...]
US manufacturing surprises analysts with a strong surge in growth July 24, 2013 Following strong manufacturing figures from France, Germany and the eurozone, the US has surprised analysts with decisively strong growth to a four month high in July. The Markit purchasing manager's index (PMI) for manufacturing rose to 53.2 from 51.9, against analyst expectations of a flat rate of growth at 51.9. Any figure above 50 implies [...]
Goldman Sachs says that 10 year bonds are now less appealing than cash July 24, 2013 In a new note, Goldman Sach's investment research team suggests that trackers are weighting 10 year government bonds too highly, and should now prefer cash. For the best returns, equities are set to deliver 13 per cent in the next 12 months say Goldman. That's a far higher rate of return than the two per [...]