Osborne in hunt for growth plan November 13, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne is in talks with institutional investors about getting private cash to fund billions in infrastructure projects as part of a desperate bid to get the economy moving despite the global debt crisis. Among the ideas being mulled by HM Treasury is the establishment of an infrastructure investment fund to channel private money [...]
RAPID RESPONSES October 3, 2011 Osborne’s speech George Osborne’s announcement that he will focus on supporting small businesses is clearly good news, but recent research carried out by RSM Tenon shows that nearly a quarter of all entrepreneurs in the south say that the coalition government has had a negative impact on their business. The chancellor says that he recognises [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG AREAS STILL LACK 3G, SAYS OFCOM Nearly 90 per cent of the UK’s land mass and a quarter of buildings are unable to receive all five 3G phone networks a decade after the introduction of the mobile licences, according to the telecoms regulator. In its first report on the UK’s communications infrastructure, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BIG AREAS STILL LACK 3G, SAYS OFCOM Nearly 90 per cent of the UK’s land mass and a quarter of buildings are unable to receive all five 3G phone networks a decade after the introduction of the mobile licences, according to the telecoms regulator. In its first report on the UK’s communications infrastructure, [...]
Shock of Greek referendum sends financial stocks down November 1, 2011 FINANCIAL stocks led Britain’s FTSE 100 sharply lower yesterday, after the Greek Prime Minister’s call for a referendum on the bailout package agreed last week sent shockwaves through markets and heightened tensions over debt contagion. London’s blue chips fell 122.65 points or 2.2 per cent to 5,421.57, echoing similar falls across the globe as investors [...]
Berlusconi’s exit won’t end the crisis November 9, 2011 ONE by one, they fall: the Eurozone’s poisonous, tarantula-like bite has just claimed its second major political scalp in under a week. Following days of intense pressure by global bond investors, who had lost confidence in his ability to turn around the Italian economy, Silvio Berlusconi was finally forced to announce that he would be [...]
Lagarde calls for fiscal stimulus in US and EU September 4, 2011 INTERNATIONAL monetary fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde is urging US and EU leaders to counter the confidence crisis hitting their economies. “Looking at Europe, we recommend countries adjust their austerity programmes to a changed situation and consider measures to drive growth,” she told German magazine Der Spiegel yesterday. She suggested that countries like Germany, with [...]
Bolder policies would help to limit job losses October 12, 2011 EVEN the government’s supporters admitted that yesterday’s unemployment figures were grim. The number of people out of work is now 2.57m, the highest for 17 years, with more than one in five young people now jobless. Labour was quick to make political capital out of it by blaming it on the government’s cuts, citing the [...]
IMF baffled by calls to enter bond market as fears of a slump grow October 5, 2011 THE INTERNATIONAL Monetary Fund has urged Europe to shore up its banks with up an injection of up to €200bn (£172.6bn) amid fears a freeze in lending will trigger another recession. Yesterday Antonio Borges (pictured), the IMF’s Europe director, said the move would help to restore confidence across the continent. “We are talking about figures [...]
Slovaks vote no to bailout October 11, 2011 THE EUROZONE’S grand plan to boost the firepower of its bailout fund was dealt a major blow last night as the Slovakian parliament voted “no”. Legislators now face a scramble to form a new coalition and pass the bill, which could happen tonight at the earliest. Observers expect it to be ratified by the end [...]