Supply fears pushes up oil December 13, 2011 OIL prices jumped two per cent yesterday as fears over Iran and threats to major shipping lanes sent US crude above $100 a barrel. Crude futures briefly surged nearly $4 a barrel after a frenetic spell of trading in New York at the start of the day. The rise was also driven by the closure [...]
Merkozy deal on spending December 6, 2011 PROFLIGATE governments will be punished by other euro states under tough new rules unveiled by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday. But the Eurozone’s bailout fund will not have the power to negotiate haircuts with private-sector bondholders and overspending states will not be hauled in front of the EU courts, previous [...]
GEOPOLITICAL THREATS TO 2012 TRADING January 3, 2012 AS THE currency markets opened for trading at the start of the new year, investors remained in a party mood, bidding up the Australian dollar, after PMI readings from the region printed better than expected. China’s official PMI Manufacturing report crossed back above the 50 boom/bust level, allaying concerns that the Asian giant was heading [...]
GEOPOLITICAL THREATS TO 2012 TRADING January 3, 2012 AS THE currency markets opened for trading at the start of the new year, investors remained in a party mood, bidding up the Australian dollar, after PMI readings from the region printed better than expected. China’s official PMI Manufacturing report crossed back above the 50 boom/bust level, allaying concerns that the Asian giant was heading [...]
S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
S&P was right to warn the Eurozone December 6, 2011 THERE was anger at Standard and Poor’s, the rating agency, last night, focusing on the timing of its decision to put fifteen Eurozone countries on negative watch. I disagree: for once, the agency demonstrated bravery uncharacteristic of the times we live in. I’m no defender of the rating agencies, who performed appallingly during the bubble [...]
Banks told to snub Iran November 21, 2011 THE TREASURY yesterday ordered all UK financial institutions to stop trading with Iran, in response to growing fears over the Middle Eastern nation’s possible nuclear arsenal. From 3pm yesterday, all UK credit and financial firms were required to halt transactions with Iranian counterparts and all their subsidiaries, including the Central Bank of Iran, under the [...]
Banks told to snub Iran November 21, 2011 THE TREASURY yesterday ordered all UK financial institutions to stop trading with Iran, in response to growing fears over the Middle Eastern nation’s possible nuclear arsenal. From 3pm yesterday, all UK credit and financial firms were required to halt transactions with Iranian counterparts and all their subsidiaries, including the Central Bank of Iran, under the [...]
TESCO TO BET £500M ON UK FIGHTBACK January 12, 2012 A RATTLED Tesco is set to splash around £500m on revamping its UK store network and recruiting new staff after it stunned the City with its first profit warning in twenty years. Chief executive Philip Clarke is ready to sanction an investment of “hundreds of millions” of pounds in Britain after the supermarket yesterday posted [...]
Tindall reinstated in England squad and fine cut on appeal November 28, 2011 FORMER England captain Mike Tindall has been handed an international lifeline after he was reinstated to the elite player squad last night, following a successful appeal over the ban he received for his conduct at the World Cup. The Gloucester centre was reprimanded after the controversial night out in Queenstown that followed England’s opening win [...]