…but FTSE bucks the trends as it touches five-year high February 21, 2013 THE FTSE 100 climbed to a five year peak during yesterday’s trading, breaking through another psychological barrier. London’s main blue chip index reached 6,412.44 points as investors were boosted by renewed belief that the Bank of England could be set for more quantitative easing. It was the first time since January 2008 that the FTSE [...]
The only great British economic success story of recent years February 21, 2013 BRITAIN is, as ever, a country of contradictions. On the one hand, the pound is tumbling as the global markets begin to worry about our future, the budget deficit is increasing – not least because George Osborne got £1.2bn less than expected from the sale of 4G licences – real wages are falling at an [...]
Jobs boom continues but slump in real wages bites February 21, 2013 EMPLOYMENT soared to another new all-time record in the final three months of 2012, despite the economic activity rate falling to a 22-year low. Employment rose 154,000 between the third and fourth quarter of 2012, reaching 29.73m, the highest level ever. At the same time, unemployment edged down 14,000, to 2.50m, 156,000 lower than during [...]
Fed minutes suggest QE3 could end soon February 21, 2013 THE Federal Reserve last night hinted its current third round of quantitative easing (QE3) may come to an end earlier than planned, trigging a sell-off in US stock markets. Minutes of the last Fed meeting show there is growing unease within the organisation over last September’s pledge to keep buying $85bn of assets a month until there [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 21, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Twitter tries new tool to unlock ads Twitter has unveiled a new automated advertising technology that promises to unlock the moneymaking potential of the microblogging site. The development of a Twitter ads API, or “application-programming interface”, satisfies a long-awaited desire of advertisers to increase and improve the reach of their marketing messages to [...]
D-Day for Nat Rothschild at Bumi meeting February 21, 2013 IT’S CRUNCH time for Bumi co-founder Nat Rothschild this morning, as the bitter shareholder battle for control of the coal miner looks set to come to an end today. Shareholders will meet in the City of London to vote on Rothschild’s proposals to overhaul the board. Rothschild needs a 50 per cent majority to push [...]
Banks fear EU rules will hit firms’ hedging February 21, 2013 FOREIGN banks will be put at a huge competitive disadvantage when trying to sell hedging products to EU firms, banking groups have warned, if damaging incoming rules are not amended quickly. Under the CRD4 directive plans, banks must hold extra capital against derivatives to cover the risk that they may lose value in future. The [...]
Profile: The Bumi Row February 21, 2013 JULY 2010 Cash shell Vallar, founded by Nat Rothschild, floats on the LSE after raising £700m. It intends to invest in mining sector NOVEMBER 2010 Vallar buys stakes in Indonesian Berau Coal and Bumi Resources in a $3bn cash and shares transaction NOVEMBER 2011 Rothschild writes to the chief executive of Bumi and Bumi Resources [...]
Santander bosses take pay cut on Spanish property troubles February 21, 2013 SPANISH bank Santander slashed bosses bonuses by one-third yesterday after profits slumped, and froze the directors’ salaries at 2009 levels. Long-serving chairman Emilio Botin took a 32 per cent cut, earning just over €3m (£2.6m) – though €1.4m of that is in shares, much of which are deferred. Profits at Spain’s largest lender fell 59 [...]
Network Rail set to be fined as planning mistakes cause delays February 21, 2013 NETWORK Rail is facing a multi-million pound fine for causing unacceptable delays over the winter, the industry regulator warned yesterday. Overrunning engineering work over Christmas and “basic operational planning mistakes” were behind the slip in punctuality on English and Welsh railways, said the Office of Rail Regulation. Around 88.3 per cent of long-distance trains arrived [...]
