Aussie rate hike hangs in the balance February 28, 2010 ONE major central bank will have a difficult decision to make this week but it is not the Bank of England. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) faces a finely balanced decision tomorrow between keeping rates on hold at 3.75 per cent or hiking by 25 basis points. The RBA had surprised markets last month [...]
Weak factory data pushes pound lower March 10, 2010 STERLING sank further yesterday after unexpectedly weak industrial production data dashed hopes that the British economy would be able to build on its return to growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The pound – which had been battered last week by a combination of political worries, weak data, and the Pru’s acquisition of [...]
Northern Rock set to pull state guarantees February 24, 2010 GOVERNMENT guarantees on retail savings in Northern Rock, implemented in late 2007 to protect customer deposits in the wake of a panic-fuelled run on the bank, are to be pulled from the end of May, the Treasury confirmed yesterday. The withdrawal follows the restructuring of the now-nationalised bank into a “good” and “bad” bank at [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 11, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES TOTAL CHIEF STILL KEEN ON UAE DESPITE SETBACKS Total, the French oil company, is looking to invest in the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear industry despite having been part of a consortium that lost the $20.4bn contract to build the country’s reactors. The loss to a Korean consortium, led by Korea Electric Power Corp [...]
Mining charter contracts boost Skywest Airlines February 22, 2010 AUSTRALIAN regional carrier Skywest Airlines will this morning reveal it has swung into the black over the first half of the year, despite a worldwide slump in demand for air travel in the downturn. Skywest, which charters planes to ferry employees of some of the world’s largest mining groups to and from resource developments in [...]
City workers slam class war Budget March 24, 2010 THE City was left unconvinced by yesterday’s Budget, slamming Darling for failing to provide a clear outline on how the government was planning to reduce its huge deficit. Banks were being sent a contradictory message, critics said, pointing out that Darling has asked nationalised banks such as Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland to [...]
PROPERTY BARONS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR SAGE April 13, 2010 IT WAS a hop, a skip and a jump over to the Dorchester yesterday lunchtime for the slap-up annual lunch hosted by Gerald Ronson, the seasoned chief of property group Heron International. Ronson’s list of invitees reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of property and high finance, including ex-Lloyds chair Sir Victor [...]
FTSE 100 soars to 21-month high boosted by Greek bailout March 25, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares hit a 21-month closing high for the third day in a row yesterday, helped by a rally in banks as sovereign debt concerns faded, while retailers were boosted by upbeat results from Next and UK retail sales. The FTSE 100 ended 49.77 points higher at 5,727.65, finishing above the 5,700-mark for the [...]
Housing sales boost bottom line at Barratt February 24, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Barratt Developments saw its losses narrow in the second half of the year as the housing market showed further signs of finding its feet. Pre-tax losses came in at £178.4m compared to a loss of £594.5m a year earlier. However, it took a £129.9m hit from finance costs following its £720m placing and rights [...]
Take a global view for the best returns on your ISA March 30, 2010 IF you want to make the most of your ISA allocation, then you had better get your skates on: tomorrow is your last chance this year. Of course, the principles of picking a fund are the same as any fund-picking. As ever, diversification is the key when it comes to long-term investment planning, so it [...]