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November 26, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has called on both governments and central banks to inject more cash into their economies, in order to revive domestic spending and help fend off the recession that has been classified as the worst in over 25 years.
The OECD's latest projections indicate for a very bleak future due to the increased instability of ...
by Kay Murchie
Shares in High Street chain Woolworths have been suspended as the retailer continues talks to save the business.
Woolworths shares have plummeted by 92% in the last year (falling 32% last Friday) and it has debts of £385 million. Shares have been suspended at 1.22p, after falling almost 9% yesterday.
In a statement, the group said it is in talks ...
November 25, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
According to the latest research conducted by GfK, German consumer confidence has improved coming up to Christmas as shoppers are no longer as reluctant to spend money.
The survey of 2,000 Germans found that sentiment rose by 0.3 from October to 2.2, which is well above economists expectations of 1.5.
The survey revealed that the German’s do not yet believe that the economy and ...
by Peter Charalambous
It is predicted that interest rates in Australia could fall to their lowest levels since the early 1960s by the start of 2009, with the start being a huge cut prior to Christmas.
It is hoped that commercial banks will pass on the interest rate reduction to their variable rates, although as seen in the UK some banks are not ...
by Peter Charalambous
Following Thailand’s slowest growth in over eight years, as a result of the global economic slowdown, the government faces increased pressure from protestors who are calling for greater action to be taken.
Ampon Kittiampon, the secretary-general of Thailand's economic advisory board, advised that the government needs to take swift and decisive action in order to survive. However, with growth expected to fall below 3 percent, ...
by Peter Charalambous
As both India and China are facing the global financial crisis head on, all measures are being taken in order to protect growth, as India's monetary policy has been directed towards.
The finance minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, said today that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to lower rates, as inflation continues to cool as the economic downturn has had ...
by Peter Charalambous
Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, warned last week that the current global economic crisis is deeper than the west admits.
At the Asia-Pacific economic summit, he said that continued economic growth in the emerging Asian economies would help to maintain economic growth.
China is already an important stabiliser in terms of financial stability and maintaining global economic development although growth has slowed ...
by Peter Charalambous
German business confidence has taken a further dive and is now at a new fifteen-year low, according to the key Ifo economic climate index.
The Ifo index is based on a poll of 7,000 companies, and has fallen by 4.4 points from the previous month and now stands at 85.8 having fallen for 6 consecutive months.
The fall in German exports, as a result of ...
by Kay Murchie
Well-known retailer Woolworths was in crisis talks over the weekend to prevent it from falling into administration.
Woolworths’ lenders, a consortium led by GMAC and Bank of Ireland subsidiary Burdale, rejected and offer from Hilco, the restructuring company, last week who offered to buy the shops for £1 and take on approximately £265 million of the group’s debts.
However, Woolworths’ major shareholder, property ...
November 24, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed in its latest overview of mortgage arrears and repossessions for the third quarter of the year, that the worsening profile of the buy-to-let market has caused the market, as a whole, to deteriorate faster and deeper than predicted.
Historically the payment profile of buy-to-let mortgages has been higher than that of the rest of the market. ...
by Peter Charalambous
Saudi Arabia has made a move to boost liquidity after the central bank has cut its key interest rate.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency has reduced its repurchase rate by one percentage point to three percent today.
The move has been co-ordinated in conjunction with reducing the level of reserves commercial banks are required to hold, which in turn is meant to promote lenders ...
by Peter Charalambous
Chancellor Alistair Darling has been calling for the banks to make changes that will help the real economy through the recession and to pass on recent interest rate cuts.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has responded by announcing a freeze on overdraft charges for small businesses.
This move has been partly in response to complaints from small businesses who have seen interest rates ...
by Peter Charalambous
Consumer spending, which accounts for 15 percent of the French economy, has fallen by 0.4 percent in the last month, as well as manufacturing goods falling for the fourth consecutive month, according to the National Statistics Office.
With the labour market struggling and likely to continue to deteriorate, it seems as though consumer confidence and consumer spending is only heading in one direction.
The world’s ...
November 23, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Well-known retailer Woolworths is in crisis talks with its two main banks to prevent it from falling into administration.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Woolworths is running out of cash amid challenging conditions in the retail industry, and it is believed that the company only has sufficient funds to last until about the middle of December.
The talks are being led by ...
by Kay Murchie
Honda, the Japanese carmaker, has announced it is to temporarily close its plant in Swindon for 50 days next year.
During the closure, which will take place in February and March 2009, the factory’s 4,800 employees will receive basic pay, confirmed the company.
Honda, which is Japan’s second-largest carmaker, recently announced a 41% fall in three-month profits, due to falling sales and ...
November 21, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
The initial jobless claims for last week increased by 27,000 claims to 542,000 which represents a 16-year high, as investors and analysts had hoped that jobless claims would come down to 505,000.
The Labor Department said today that that the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators has fallen by 0.8 percent, and manufacturing is similarly at an 18-year low.
The high ...
by Peter Charalambous
Last month the Bank of Japan cut its benchmark interest rates from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent, which meant that the country had the lowest interest rates among the world’s major economies, and despite expectations being towards a further rate cut, it would have left little room for manoeuvre.
As a result Japan's central bank kept its key rate ...
by Peter Charalambous
Chancellor Alistair Darling is planning to escalate the battle that he is heading into with the nation’s high street banks regarding the fact that they are not lending regularly to small businesses and first-time buyers who continue to struggle as a result of the credit crunch.
A labour lawmaker has described the banks as sitting on their hands as they have ...
by Peter Charalambous
The Singapore government has reduced the 2008 forecast for economic growth to around 2.5 percent and has indicated that the economy could shrink next year, assuming that the global financial crisis continues to affect the nation’s exports.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has forecast that the trade-dependent economy, that grew healthily with 7.7 percent last year, may shrink due to the uncertainties of ...
November 20, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were lower in New York Thursday and are now nearly $100 below July’s record highs.
January contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $2.99 to $50.63 per barrel at just less than an hour before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange after falling below $50 per barrel for a time, while at last ...
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