Housing construction slows May 4, 2011 HOUSING activity shrank in April, knocking growth in the UK’s construction sector, it was revealed yesterday. In a minor blow to the UK’s second-quarter growth prospects, construction fell over three points in the latest purchasing managers’ index. “The index still indicates expansion, but the bleaker outlook implies a slowing of building activity this year,” said [...]
Why interest rates won’t be going up June 22, 2011 IF you owe a lot of money to your bank, it’s time to rejoice. There is now almost no chance of interest rates going up this year. The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted 7-2 to keep rates on hold; and given the arguments and worries about growth expressed by the majority of the [...]
How to reform pay in the boardroom June 13, 2011 SOME CEOs are paid too much compared with the value they add; others, however, are worth every penny. Rather than waiting to be lectured by the likes of Ed Miliband, as happened yesterday, the City must tackle the issue head on. The issue is technical, not ideological: how does one design the best remuneration system [...]
Merkel ally: Greece needs firmer hand June 5, 2011 EUROPE must be more hardline with Greece to push the country towards economic reform, according to the parliamentary leader of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats. Valder Kauder, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that Germany has not yet decided whether to boost its bailout loan to Greece, despite a statement by the IMF, European Commission [...]
Quake sends Japan into recession May 19, 2011 Japan’s economy shrank much more than expected in the first quarter and slipped into recession after the triple blow of the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis hit business and consumer spending and tore apart supply chains. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) expects the economy to resume growing in the second half of the year, [...]
Quake sends Japan into recession May 19, 2011 Japan’s economy shrank much more than expected in the first quarter and slipped into recession after the triple blow of the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis hit business and consumer spending and tore apart supply chains. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) expects the economy to resume growing in the second half of the year, [...]
PM backs the City’s start-up business plans March 28, 2011 DAVID Cameron will today back a campaign launched by over 60 City firms to encourage people to become entrepreneurs. Firms including HSBC, Deloitte, Google, KMPG, BlackBerry, AXA, Coutts, Intel and Lloyds TSB are offering a package of £1,500 to every start-up that participates. Cameron will pledge his full support for the scheme and ask the [...]
PM backs the City’s start-up business plans March 28, 2011 DAVID Cameron will today back a campaign launched by over 60 City firms to encourage people to become entrepreneurs. Firms including HSBC, Deloitte, Google, KMPG, BlackBerry, AXA, Coutts, Intel and Lloyds TSB are offering a package of £1,500 to every start-up that participates. Cameron will pledge his full support for the scheme and ask the [...]
Badly written regulations cost insurers $25bn March 30, 2011 INCONSISTENT regulatory practices in different jurisdictions are costing global insurance firms an extra $25bn (£16bn), research yesterday found. Europe, the US and China are all implementing new regulation to make insurers hold more regulatory capital, such as Solvency II. But greater convergence between regimes could cut billions from insurers’ compliance costs, according to a report [...]
Badly written regulations cost insurers $25bn March 30, 2011 INCONSISTENT regulatory practices in different jurisdictions are costing global insurance firms an extra $25bn (£16bn), research yesterday found. Europe, the US and China are all implementing new regulation to make insurers hold more regulatory capital, such as Solvency II. But greater convergence between regimes could cut billions from insurers’ compliance costs, according to a report [...]