General
Geldof seeks $1bn for African investment plan
The singer and campaigner for aid to the continent is seeking to raise money from institutional investors for a private equity venture on the continent
Categories: General
Rally resumes after supportive US data
Traders are again adding to risky bets following a batch of supportive US data, but the mood is markedly less ebullient than witnessed during the previous session’s “melt up”, when better-than-expected Chinese and American factory data powered a wholesale rush into stocks
Categories: General
HSBC in clearest warning yet over relocation
Warning given over British banks moving their headquarters abroad if UK government-appointed Commission on Banking were to decide that big groups should be broken up
Categories: General
HP to buy 3Par as Dell pulls out of race
Hewlett-Packard appeared to have won the bidding battle for data storage technology company 3Par after Dell said on Thursday it would not raise its offer and was ending talks
Categories: General
Leaders promise ‘stable’ Mideast peace
Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged to achieve a “stable and enduring” peace as they began their first face-to-face talks for almost two years, amid general scepticism of their ability to reach a viable agreement
Categories: General
Fears grow over food supply
Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports
Categories: General
FTSE gold miners slip on talk of end of systemic risk
Precious metal mining stocks were in the doldrums as City analysts forecast an
end to a period of "systemic risk" triggered by the banking
crisis.
Categories: General
Bernanke regrets reticence on Lehman
Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve chairman, expressed regret for not being “more straightforward” with Congress in 2008 when he avoided saying that the central bank had no means to save Lehman Brothers.
Categories: General
The real shock for savers in Tony Blair's book
Never mind the tittle tattle about how Tony Blar says he hit the bottle during his final years in Downing Street. Nor his wearily familiar defence of the dodgy dossier and our subsequent invasion of Iraq.
No, what really shocks me about Mr Blair’s autobiography is his account of how millions of ordinary people’s retirement plans [...]
Categories: General
Era of 'too big to fail' institutions must end, warns Ben Bernanke
Fed chairman says the era of financial institutions that are too big to fail
has to end to prevent another financial crisis.
Categories: General
ECB raises eurozone growth forecasts, extends support for banks
European Central Bank increases eurozone growth forecasts, but says the
outlook remains uncertain as it kept up efforts to offer support for banks.
Categories: General
Foreign companies ‘losing out’ in China
Foreign companies are losing market share in China across a broad range of industries because of discriminatory treatment by the government and regulators, according to the European Chamber of Commerce in China
Categories: General
Flaming Ferraris force recall of 458 Italia
A division of Italy’s Fiat group is recalling all 1,248 cars of the 458 Italia model after reports that five of the supercars caught fire because of glue in the wheel-arch leaking on to the exhaust
Categories: General
UK housing data underpins recession fears
A fall in house prices and housebuilding has stoked concerns that Britain may
be dragged back into recession.
Categories: General
RBS cuts further 3,500 jobs
Royal Bank of Scotland is axing another 3,500 jobs, taking to almost 27,000 the number of staff cut since Stephen Hester took over as chief executive of the troubled UK bank
Categories: General
UK house prices on downward trend
UK house prices fell in August for the second month in a row, marking the first back-to-back house price declines since February 2009, according to a closely watched index
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Hays eyes recovery but earnings slump
The recruitment agency said a recovery in private sector hiring was fuelling a broad improvement in trading as it reported an 80 per cent decline in annual profit
Categories: General
Stock market shock: share prices can go up as well as down
Talk about good timing. Yesterday morning in this space I reported four experts’ tips on equity income funds as an alternative to dismal interest rates on bank and building society deposits. Then better than expected manufacturing figures from America prompted a something of a global stock market rally.
Lacking a crystal ball, none of us knew [...]
Categories: General
China car sales jump while US suffers
Car sales in China rebounded in August as subsidies and a stronger currency
spurred demand, while sales in the US faltered.
Categories: General
UK house prices fall for second month
Nationwide says British property prices fell 0.9pc in August as the housing
market continued to show signs of weakening.
Categories: General
The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...
"If Mr Cable had his way, all the big banks would be broken up and bonuses would be virtually eliminated - a sure-fire way in my view of guaranteeing an end to the UK’s ability to compete as an international financial centre. Let’s not forget that this is a man who is on record as saying that everyone who works in a bank has an ‘aristocratic lifestyle’ clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding of the sector." A tough line on bankers’ bonuses could make a brain drain of financial talent a distinct possibility, warns Paul Marsden. Read more