Moody’s downgrades Greece March 7, 2011 Ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded Greece from Ba1 to B1. A statement from Moody’s said: “Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Greece’s government bond ratings to B1 from Ba1, and assigned a negative outlook to the rating.” It added that the country’s continuing difficulty on collecting revenue, allied with “ambitious” financial restructuring, plans led to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES HSBC EMBROILED IN INTERNSHIP ROW HSBC has been accused of nepotism after its legal department implied it offered work experience only to the sons and daughters of its own executives. Richard Bennett, group general counsel, sent a letter rejecting a young woman who had sought unpaid work in his department. “HSBC does not [...]
UK expansion to be slow in 2011, warn businesses March 7, 2011 SLUGGISH growth will weigh down the UK economy this year, although it should spring back more strongly than previously expected in 2012, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts in a fresh forecast published today. The economy will expand by just 1.4 per cent this year, the BCC said, down from its previous forecast of [...]
UK expansion to be slow in 2011, warn businesses March 7, 2011 SLUGGISH growth will weigh down the UK economy this year, although it should spring back more strongly than previously expected in 2012, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts in a fresh forecast published today. The economy will expand by just 1.4 per cent this year, the BCC said, down from its previous forecast of [...]
Budget Special March 23, 2011 THE CBI The UK’s top business lobbying organisation. It aims to influence government policy on a wide range of business matters. DIRECTOR GENERAL JOHN CRIDLAND “The chancellor has made clear the UK is open for business. The extra 1p cut in corporation tax will help firms increase investment. Meanwhile, significant changes to entrepreneurs’ taxation will [...]
Risking the City: the economist who sees no future in political meddling March 7, 2011 LONDON will be… an excellent market for rottweilers, wire mesh and tattooed thugs. Docklands in particular will revert to its 1970s squalor, albeit with some very expensive buildings scattered around… [G]iven the crippling burdens under which British citizens already live, London’s downturn has a fair chance of tipping the economy over into national bankruptcy.” This [...]
City job creation is helping drive UK recovery April 17, 2011 When it comes to generating growth and reducing the budget deficit, job creation is unquestionably the best economic policy. Increasing employment across all sectors and regions of the economy is essential for the wider recovery. Of course, creating jobs at a time of austerity measures is easier said than done. But last week’s ONS figures [...]
Euro is close to suffering the knockout blow as trouble rises April 19, 2011 THE euro is facing so many existential threats that markets don’t know where to look: anti-bailout elections have rocked Finland; umbrage is growing across Germany; austerity tightening is squeezing Portugal; Greece is on the precipice; banks are junked in Ireland; and jitters grow in Spain. POPULISM IN FINLAND In Sunday’s Finnish elections, the True Finns [...]
Trichet’s words could lead to volatility June 7, 2011 FOREX.COM KATHLEEN BROOKS The markets have been embracing the euro with gusto this week. Partly this is a response to the weak US labour market data for May, but it is also due to expectations that the ECB will signal a rate rise in July when it meets on Thursday. The hawkish rhetoric from ECB [...]
SME Budget bonanza: entrepreneurs react March 27, 2011 WITH David Cameron urging the British public to be more entrepreneurial in a speech today, many are asking whether the government is doing enough to support start-ups and small businesses. Last week’s Budget was dubbed the “Budget for growth” and offered a number of measured aimed at entrepreneurs and small businesses, but not everyone is [...]