Brown and Sarkozy team up to tackle oil price volatility July 6, 2009 PRIME Minister Gordon Brown joined French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday in an attempt to curtail oil price volatility, as part of a move towards tougher global governance to prevent a return to problems that existed before the financial crisis. Speaking at a Franco-British summit ahead of a meeting of G8 leaders in Italy this week, [...]
CITY AM SHADOW MPC July 8, 2009 ALLISTER HEATH CITY A.M.Growth is returning slowly to the UK economy. But the Bank will increase quantitative easing this month; it has little choice really as the markets (and the Treasury) are not ready to face any exit strategy. SIMON WARD HENDERSON NEW STARExpand gilt purchases by £25bn but halve the pace to £12.5bn a [...]
CITY AM SHADOW MPC July 8, 2009 ALLISTER HEATH CITY A.M.Growth is returning slowly to the UK economy. But the Bank will increase quantitative easing this month; it has little choice really as the markets (and the Treasury) are not ready to face any exit strategy. SIMON WARD HENDERSON NEW STARExpand gilt purchases by £25bn but halve the pace to £12.5bn a [...]
Oil demand to flatline until 2012, says IEA June 29, 2009 THE International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its five-year forecast for worldwide oil demand yesterday, saying consumption won’t return to the same levels as last year until 2012, due to the downturn. In its medium-term oil market report, the body slashed oil forecasts for every year to 2013 by 3m barrels a day. By 2012, consumption [...]
SUMMER SALES July 8, 2009 Barca sanction Ribery swoopBARCELONA have given boss Pep Guardiola the green light to sign winger Franck Ribery should he want him. The Frenchman has been linked with a move to Real Madrid all summer, although the big-spending Spanish giants have given up hope of signing the £60m-rated Bayern Munich star. Chelsea remain in the race, [...]
Headline UK inflation still above target June 16, 2009 BRITISH headline inflation fell by much less than had been expected in May, raising speculation that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may decide not to extend its quantitative easing programme beyond the current £125bn. Official data yesterday showed that consumer prices rose 0.6 per cent last month, taking the annual rate of [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS THE FSA LIVING UP TO ITS PROMISE TO CLAMP DOWN ON THE CITY? May 26, 2009 GARETH LAWSON K&L GATES“I don’t think the FSA is a very effective regulator. In the past, it has always taken a very light touch, and only recently has it shown any bite. It is now trying to take a harder line, something which is long overdue, but I think it is just trying to become [...]
Brown: I will solve scandal May 19, 2009 PRIME minister Gordon Brown last night pledged to end the “gentleman’s club” of parliamentary regulation, as he said all Labour MPs who broke the rules on expenses would not stand at the next general election. Brown said the House of Commons must be subject to independent regulation for the first time in history, after Speaker Michael [...]
Third fine in fortnight as FSA swoops May 26, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday imposed a life-long ban and a £140,000 fine on former Morgan Stanley trader Nilesh Shroff, the third sanction against the bank or its former employees in the last two weeks. The FSA said that Shroff had deliberately disadvantaged his customers by “pre-hedging” their trades without their consent on seven [...]
West Ham taken over by Icelandic banks as Gudmundsson era ends June 8, 2009 WEST HAM’S new owners CB Holding have reassured fans that manager Gianfranco Zola and assistant Steve Clarke are going nowhere. And the asset management company – made up of several Icelandic banks – insist Zola will be given money to spend this summer. CB Holding acquired the Premier League club yesterday in a takeover estimated [...]