FTSE falls as Italy’s bond sale reduces investor confidence November 14, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday as the latest Italian bond auction dented investor confidence in the ability of new governments in Italy and Greece to tackle Europe’s debt crisis. An Italian five-year government bond auction delivered an early market view on former European Commissioner Mario Monti’s leadership after he was installed as Prime Minister of [...]
DAVOS DIARY January 24, 2012 THERE’S little news a skiier likes better than to hear that a bumper crop of snow awaits their arrival. Unfortunately, for those more focused on making a grand impression as they swoop into town aboard the classic Davos chariot – a personal helicopter – the weather has its inconveniences. The snow was simply too much [...]
DAVOS DIARY January 24, 2012 THERE’S little news a skiier likes better than to hear that a bumper crop of snow awaits their arrival. Unfortunately, for those more focused on making a grand impression as they swoop into town aboard the classic Davos chariot – a personal helicopter – the weather has its inconveniences. The snow was simply too much [...]
Markets suffer as G20 disappoints November 4, 2011 World stock markets suffered today as the Cannes meetings of the world’s top 20 economies reached no new agreement on how to solve the crisis engulfing Europe. Investors sought out safe-haven assets such as UK and US government debt and sold equities and the euro after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said few countries in the [...]
MADE IN CHELSEA DIAMOND HEIR DIGS DEEP FOR HIS NEXT VENTURE November 15, 2011 HIS FAMILY made their fortune digging for diamonds in the Congo and Sierra Leone, but Made in Chelsea stalwart Francis Boulle is interested in mines of a different kind. Fundmine, to be precise, an online investment platform that allows entrepreneurs to sell their company visions to private investors that has to date attracted £8.7m of [...]
Lender records €10bn loss as its asset values go into freefall November 14, 2011 UNICREDIT plunged back into the red yesterday with a stunning net loss of €10.64bn (£9.1bn) on the back of huge write-downs to its asset pile. Markets, which had been expecting a profitable quarter, ditched the stock, which fell 6.2 per cent by the close of play. The bank also confirmed plans for a €7.5bn rights [...]
Thomas Cook aims to reassure clients November 27, 2011 THOMAS Cook has launched a publicity offensive aimed at reassuring customers of its future as its incoming chairman, Frank Meysman, arrives to review the business, which is expected to involve a boardroom clearout. After being saved from collapse on Friday by a £100m bailout from its banks, Thomas Cook’s interim chief executive Sam Weihagen published [...]
Thomas Cook aims to reassure clients November 27, 2011 THOMAS Cook has launched a publicity offensive aimed at reassuring customers of its future as its incoming chairman, Frank Meysman, arrives to review the business, which is expected to involve a boardroom clearout. After being saved from collapse on Friday by a £100m bailout from its banks, Thomas Cook’s interim chief executive Sam Weihagen published [...]
More cash left at the ECB amid downgrades October 5, 2011 AS GREEK protestors and strikers returned to the streets of Athens in fresh clashes with police yesterday Eurozone lenders fled to safety, using the European Central Bank as a safe house for increasing amounts of cash on Tuesday night, figures yesterday showed. Overnight deposits at the ECB rose to €213bn from €209bn on Monday, the [...]
US trade gap and jobless claims show gains October 13, 2011 The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits was steady last week and the trade deficit narrowed slightly in August, indicating a slight improvement in the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 404,000, the Labor Department has said, just below economists’ expectations for 405,000. A separate [...]