Balls: we will use bank sale to plug debt September 25, 2011 ED Balls, the shadow chancellor, will today try to rebuild Labour’s shattered economic credibility by pledging to use any windfall from the sale of the taxpayer’s stake in the banks to repay the national debt. Balls – who has been labelled a “deficit denier” by his opponents in the coalition – is also expected to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 1, 2011 BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS Goldman Sachs has upgraded the house builder from “neutral” to “buy” with a target price of 159p. The broker has also upgraded rival Persimmon to “buy” after reviewing the property sector, and now expects broadly flat new-build house prices over the next two years, thanks to low build volumes and stable unemployment. Goldman [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS August 1, 2011 BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS Goldman Sachs has upgraded the house builder from “neutral” to “buy” with a target price of 159p. The broker has also upgraded rival Persimmon to “buy” after reviewing the property sector, and now expects broadly flat new-build house prices over the next two years, thanks to low build volumes and stable unemployment. Goldman [...]
Debt to pass 100pc of GDP July 13, 2011 A POPULATION time-bomb will see UK national debt total more than 100 per cent of GDP if future governments do not go beyond current efforts to eliminate the annual deficit. Despite the national debt being expected to drop to around 60 per cent of GDP by the mid-2020s, it could hit 107 per cent by [...]
Debt to pass 100pc of GDP July 13, 2011 A POPULATION time-bomb will see UK national debt total more than 100 per cent of GDP if future governments do not go beyond current efforts to eliminate the annual deficit. Despite the national debt being expected to drop to around 60 per cent of GDP by the mid-2020s, it could hit 107 per cent by [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SHIPOWNER THREATENS TO SEIZE CHINA VESSELS One of Greece’s most high-profile shipowners has threatened to seize ships belonging to China’s biggest shipping company, after it halted payments on high-priced charter contracts. George Economou said that Cosco’s stance over contracts struck during the 2008 shipping boom might reflect a failure to understand the importance [...]
Tensions rising again in the markets August 25, 2011 WHEREVER one looks, there is danger in the air. Global equities are down 10.2 per cent in August and 11.3 per cent in the year to date. European and UK shares are down 13 and 10.4 per cent respectively in August, and 16.8 per cent and 11.5 per cent so far this year, Evolution Securities [...]
RAIL RAGE July 3, 2011 THE LABOUR Party has urged the government to review its decision to award a £3bn contract to Siemens of Germany to build new Thameslink trains. In a letter sent to David Cameron yesterday, shadow business secretary John Denham said the decision had dealt “a body blow to the UK rail manufacturing sector” and will put [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 18, 2011 HSBC HSBC has promoted Krishna Patel, chief executive of HSBC Africa, to chief executive of its Global Private Banking division, reporting to group chief executive Stuart Gulliver. Patel will start his new role on 1 September, initially based in Geneva, and will focus on strengthening the bank’s presence in the fastest-growing wealth markets. Patel, who [...]
Architecture is frozen ambition July 10, 2011 Office Space Despite talk that tall buildings have had their day, skyscrapers still reflect our highest values TALL buildings are a mirror of human confidence, ability and enthusiasm. They reflect our belief in our own capabilities to design and build them, and in the appetites of the markets to fund, lease and buy them. In [...]