Dijsselbloem says Greece may need more help September 5, 2013 Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem has said that Greece may require further help. Dijsselbloem said that he was not going to talk about a new loan, and that debt relief wouldn't be considered by the Eurogroup beofore April 2014. It is clear that despite recent progress, Greece's troubles will not have been resolved by 2014. The [...]
Bank of Japan’s Kuroda puts pressure on PM to increase sales tax September 5, 2013 Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda has continued to put pressure on prime minister Shinzo Abe to increase consumption tax, pledging to support the economy with monetary tools. Kuroda said that the Bank of Japan can step in if the tax were to hit growth. Japan is one of the world's most indebted nations, and [...]
German construction sector pace of growth at March 2012 high September 5, 2013 Germany's construction sector is now growing at the fastest pace seen since March 2012, according to new data from Markit. The sector purchasing managers' index has risen to 55.1 in August, signalling higher growth from last month's figure of 51.5. Phil Smith, economist at Markit said: A solid and accelerated increase in construction activity was [...]
Central bank decision day: Carney will sit tight, but could Draghi be a dove? September 5, 2013 Kit Juckes, Societe Generale: If you take history as a guide you could be drawn into simple US and European monetary policy conclusions: Sustained policy de-coupling has n ever happened, Fed rates reach lower lows, UK rates usually reach higher highs and the ECB lags the others. Markets are pricing in a faster pace of [...]
Betfair slides on open as total revenues fall September 5, 2013 Online bookie Betfair has seen total revenues fall by 13 per cent in the three months ended 31 July (release). While sports revenues grew by 18 per cent in the period to £4m, in all other areas, revenues declined with gaming incomes falling by 31 per cent and exchange by 13 per cent, and management [...]
Before the open – 05/09 September 5, 2013 It's central bank rate decision day across Europe, with both the Bank of England and European Central Bank announcing policy this afternoon. The FTSE is expected to rise slightly on news that the US is growing at a "modest to moderate" pace from yesterday's Beige Book update. #FTSE called up 20. Generally firmer tone for [...]
Dixons sells off e-tailer PIXmania and Electroworld stores as group sales grow September 5, 2013 High street chain Dixons as confirmed that it is selling off pure e-tailer PIXmania, and electrical goods retailer ElectroWorld operations in Turkey. PIXmania has been sold to German industrial holding company A.G. (release). Dixons boss Sebastian James said that being a purely online business "PIXmania needs a different kind of entrepreneurial vigour". Dixon's ElectroWorld operations [...]
EU backs down on finance tax September 5, 2013 EUROPE is reining in its planned financial transactions tax (FTT), cutting back the level of the tax and limiting its scope dramatically after leaders realised it could do enormous damage to the economy. The FTT is now likely to affect just share trades at first, rather than bonds and derivatives as originally planned, and at [...]
Britain to fight EU in court on benefits rules September 5, 2013 IAIN Duncan Smith reacted with fury yesterday after the European Commission said it would take Britain to court in order to ensure EU migrants enjoy equal access to UK welfare payments. The work and pensions secretary said he would fight “every step of the way” to maintain the current system, which imposes additional eligibility requirements on non-UK nationals who [...]
The legacy of Hugo Chavez: Venezuela now has the world’s worst public institutions September 4, 2013 On the passing of Hugo Chavez this March, we looked briefly at his economic legacy, and the performance of Venezuela against its South American neighbours. The latest World Economic Forum global competitiveness report, released today, is even more striking. Out of 148 countries, here's how Venezuela's institutions fare: 148th for property rights 148th for the [...]