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October 31, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Oil prices were lower Friday on a report from the US Commerce Department showing that consumer spending dropped by 0.3 percent in September.
December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $1.67 to $64.29 per barrel in early afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile exchange while at last report Brent crude for December delivery was down $1.84 to $61.87 per barrel ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound was weaker in relation to the greenback Friday as consumer confidence declined in the UK and it became more likely that the Bank of England will cut interest rates to 4 percent when it meets in November.
The pound was also affected by new data released Thursday by the Nationwide Building Society that house prices have fallen more from a ...
by Peter Charalambous
n a bid to fight off recession Japan has taken drastic action by cutting interest rates for the first time in over seven years.
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.3 percent to help stave off a prolonged recession.
The Governor of the BOJ, Masaaki Shirakawa, was the deciding vote in cutting interest rates from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent ...
by Kay Murchie
Telecoms giant BT has issued a profits warning today sending its shares plummeting over 25% to its lowest level since the group floated on the London Stock Exchange in November 1984.
A disappointing performance at its global services unit was blamed for the fall in profits and as a result, Francois Barrault, chief executive of the division, has stepped ...
by Peter Charalambous
German unemployment has defied the current economic gloom and has fallen by more than economists’ prediction of a 10,000 reduction during this month.
Following the fall in September by 29,000, it has fallen another 26,000 this month to 3.151 million according to the statistics released yesterday by the German Federal Labour Office.
It was predicted that unemployment would drop as the German labour market ...
October 30, 2008
by Elaine Frei
More worries about declining demand sent crude oil prices lower Thursday on a US Commerce Department report which showed an 0.3 percent annualized decline in the US GDP in the third quarter.
December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.54 to $65.96 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery was down $1.96 to ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were up Thursday after interest rate cuts in the US, China and Taiwan and on encouraging earnings reports in the region.
In London the FTSE 100 added 1.16 percent to 4,291.65 while the FTSE 250 gained 3.92 percent to 6,223.78 as banks and miners saw gains and insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) led the 100 with a ...
by Peter Charalambous
For a fifth consecutive month, European retail sales are falling and the slide has been the steepest since 2004 as shown in the figures of the Bloomberg Retail Purchasing Managers Index.
Analysts and economists alike have labelled the current world financial crisis as the worst since the great depression, and with Europe’s economy flirting with recession it is no wonder that the ...
by Peter Charalambous
The Nationwide building society has today revealed the extent of the house price drop as the credit crunch has now firmly set in, the average house price has fallen by 14.6 percent since their peak of last summer.
That equates to an average price of £158,872 and one in ten mortgage holders are now in the position of negative equity. Analysts ...
by Peter Charalambous
Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, has warned that the UK is in danger of entering a deeper form of recession if interest rates are not cut significantly, as the UK economy simply cannot endure anymore.
An aggressive cut in interest rates is the only thing that can be done to avert ...
by Peter Charalambous
With the index of consumer sentiment down 7.1 points to 80.4, the European Commission report that has been released today, shows how the current economic crisis has brought confidence down to a 15-year low.
Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to access funding and with recession looming, the outlook does look bleak.
The EU survey has revealed that the Dutch have ...
by Peter Charalambous
Hungary and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the European Union (EU) have announced the details of a rescue plan, with the Eastern European country securing a 20 billion-euro ($25.5 billion) package.
The IMF will lead the way by lending 12.5 billion euros, the EU entered with 6.5 billion and the World Bank made up the rest. ...
by Kay Murchie
Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, has announced a 71% rise in third-quarter profits, boosted by record oil prices.
Earlier this week, rival BP reported a 148% increase in third-quarter profits due to soaring oil prices.
The price of oil reached a high of $147 a barrel in July but is currently around $70 a barrel, due to fears that a global recession will ...
October 29, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Germany’s Lufthansa is to take control of UK airline, BMI, in a deal which will give Lufthansa control of more flights from London’s Heathrow airport, second only to British Airways.
The German airline is to buy 50% of the firm owned by BMI chairman, Sir Michael Bishop, who forced the purchase under a long-standing agreement. Lufthansa, was already BMI's second-largest shareholder, with ...
by Elaine Frei
Most European equities markets were significantly higher Wednesday, with commodities-related shares, banks and insurers all higher.
The FTSE 100 added 7.14 percent to 4,343.54 in London while the FTSE 250 was up 5.09 percent to 5,989.11 on the session.
Among the biggest winners on the day in London were insurers, as Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) added 18.93 percent, Aviva (LSE: AV) ...
by Peter Charalambous
The beleaguered Spanish mortgage market has continued to take a battering this week after the Spanish Housing Association announced that the number of mortgage transactions has continued to fall.
The number of house transactions in August fell by 36 percent compared to last year, which signalled that the situation is getting worse.
Spain’s initial housing boom a decade ago meant that the ...
by Peter Charalambous
Inflation in Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has settled with a slow reduction likely in this quarter, which will mean it is going to be easier for the European Central Bank to lower interest rates further to stimulate the euro zone economy.
In the month of September, inflation in one German state has fallen down to 2.7 percent from 3.1 ...
by Peter Charalambous
The key interest rates in China have fallen to 6.66 percent from 6.93 percent as the People's Bank of China have decided to cut interest rates for the third time in two months in order to steer the country away from the deepening global financial crisis.
The deposit rate has also fallen to 3.60 percent from 3.87 percent, although interest on ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound saw gains on Wednesday on the news that more home mortgages were approved in the UK in September than in August as 1,000 more mortgages were approved last month to a total of 33,000 approvals.
It was the first month of gains in approvals in over a year.
In late morning trade in New York, the pound traded at 79.39p to ...
by Kay Murchie
Icelandic-owned Sterling Airways is the latest airline to add to the industry’s woes after it said it is to file for bankruptcy.
The budget carrier said as well as soaring fuel costs, the Icelandic financial collapse was responsible for its demise.
The collapse has left up to 700 passengers stranded at London's Gatwick airport and a spokesperson for the airport said a ...
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