QE2: one is not amused by the potential for US equity downturn May 23, 2011 THE sheer size of the numbers involved in the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program (QE2) can be difficult to comprehend. By comparison, Queen Elizabeth II receives a paltry £7.9m per annum from the Civil List. This is nothing compared to the $600bn of US Treasuries bought by the Federal Reserve during this cycle of quantitative [...]
PROPERTY FIRM OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 4 June 22, 2011 The property sector has experienced mixed fortunes this year. While work on record-breaking skyscrapers has really picked up the pace, other projects have been left unfinished or even empty once completed. London has continued to enjoy the best conditions for investing and developing real estate – with nominees British Land, Land Securities and Heron among [...]
MORRISONS’ FINANCE CONTROLLER COOKS UP WINNING WEB STRATEGY May 10, 2011 WITH a name like Richard Pennycook, there was only ever one possible vocation for Morrisons’ group finance director (FD), who proved he is worthy of the title by restoring the grocer’s profits after the slump when it bought Safeway in 2005. So keep those “cooking the books” jokes to yourself, because Pennycook last night received [...]
Banks help FTSE to end May on a high but fear still reigns May 31, 2011 BANKS and energy stocks, buoyed by hopes of a second bailout for Greece, helped Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday, but traders remained concerned about buying momentum in the short-term. “Uncertainty for the near term outlook still remains bearish until the markets can pick up positive momentum and clear hurdles to give the bulls a chance [...]
Public sector building slump raises double-dip fears July 12, 2010 A SHARP drop in public sector building activity caused commercial development to fall to the lowest monthly level in nearly a year in June, according to property advisor Savills. The company said its Commercial Development Activity Index showed a net balance of minus 2.8 percent in June, the lowest reading in 11 months, down from [...]
Time to celebrate Tax Freedom Day May 31, 2011 WELCOME back to the office: today is the first working day you actually get to keep the money you earn, rather than hand it all over to the state to pay for public spending. It’s Tax Freedom Day – a date which keeps moving later into the year as taxes keep going up. You may [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 26, 2011 IMS Group The regulatory compliance provider has strengthened its consultancy offering following the acquisition of compliance consultancy MMS in February. Jonathan Mott joins as a consultant from the Financial Services Authority to work with a range of companies in the asset management and securities sector, including hedge fund managers and private equity firms. In addition, [...]
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 [...]
We need a proper education industry April 20, 2011 IT is time to harness the profit motive to sort out the UK’s schools. That may sound hopelessly radical – but the seeds of a revolution have already been planted, and the green shoots they are generating remarkably promising. Britain’s current crop of private schools are not all charities. As a report out today from [...]
Construction outlook weak October 4, 2010 Activity in the construction sector picked up in September, but firms’ confidence about the future fell to an 18-month low on worries about government spending cuts, a survey of purchasing managers showed yesterday. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply construction PMI rose to 53.8 in September from 52.1 in August, confounding expectations for an [...]