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February 27, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were lower Friday on fears that the recession will get worse and that demand, which has recovered slightly, will decline again.
New numbers showed that consumer spending was down by 4.3 percent in the US last quarter, while the US gross domestic product dropped 6.2 percent on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter of 2008.
April contracts for ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were lower Friday after a deal was announced between the US government and Citigroup (NYSE: C) in which the government will take as much as a 36 percent stake in the bank.
The news made some analysts and investors worry that the deal is a step down the road to nationalization of banks.
In London, the FTSE 100 was ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound weakened Friday on new survey results in two separate reports from market research company GfK NOP.
Consumer confidence remained weak in the UK in February at minus 35, near a 30-year low, while it was estimated that by the end of the year 40 percent of UK mortgage holders could see their loans higher than the value of their homes.
Meanwhile, the US ...
by Peter Charalambous
According to the latest survey by Nationwide, it seems as though the hope that was in place of a recovery in January has been dashed by February’s figures as the housing market has not yet hit rock bottom.
It seems as though the worst is yet to come as the average house price fell by 1.8 per cent during the month, ...
by Peter Charalambous
Judges have ruled that the overdraft charges of up to £38 that are made for unauthorised overdrafts should be tested for fairness which means that there are over a million banking customers who have now taken a step closer to getting refunds.
The Court of Appeal has rejected the banks’ claims that the charges were part of the central agreements with ...
February 26, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices jumped again Thursday on indications that production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are beginning to affect the US market, and on the possibility that OPEC could soon cut production beyond the 4.2 million barrels per day already cut .
In addition, demand is beginning to rise again in the United States after falling recently.
April contracts ...
by Kay Murchie
Detroit-based carmaker General Motors (GM), which is struggling to survive amid the economic downturn, has reported a fourth quarter loss of $9.6 billion (£6.7 billion), pushing its net losses for the 2008 year to $30.9 billion.
Last week, GM, which is America’s largest carmaker, said it needed to borrow up to $16.6 billion from the US Government in order to survive - ...
by Elaine Frei
Banks and insurers sent European equities markets higher Thursday as banks led the winners on London, Paris and Frankfurt indexes.
Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) added 25.54 percent on the FTSE 100 in London even though it reported that it lost £24.1 billion ($34.3 billion) last year, the biggest yearly loss for a company in British history, while Lloyds ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar saw declines Thursday on new data from the Labor Department and the Commerce department which showed unemployment up last week and durable-goods orders down for the sixth consecutive month in January.
The US Labor Department said that 667,000 put in claims for first-time jobless benefits last week, a gain of 36,000 from the previous week.
New Jersey saw the biggest jump ...
February 25, 2009
by Elaine Frei
The price of crude oil was higher Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported in it’s weekly inventories report that US stockpiles of crude were up less than had been expected after the previous week’s declines.
April contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $2.54 to $42.50 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude gained $1.33 ...
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in Europe were mixed Wednesday as London markets saw gains but both the Dax and the CAC-40 were lower on the session.
In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.85 percent to 3,848.98 while the FTSE 250 added 2.31 percent to 6,042.15.
Banks were higher, led by Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) with a gain of 7.54 percent ...
by Peter Charalambous
Across BAA’s airports, which includes London Heathrow, traffic has fallen by 2.8 percent having made a net loss of £1.95bn in 2008 compared to an £86m profit from the previous year,
Ferrovial, the Spanish owners of BAA, may still have to concede a break up as Britain’s anti-trust regulator publishes a final report on the company’s dominance of UK airports, especially in the South ...
by Peter Charalambous
Rail operators have pleaded with the government to override pricing rules as deflation is now looming, although for the first time since privatisation train companies are likely to be forced to cut the price of season tickets and off-peak fares.
This is likely to result in train companies having to cut services as well as jobs, and for those operators who are ...
by Peter Charalambous
According to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), mortgage approvals are up by 4 percent from December, although they are still down by 43 percent from the previous year.
There has been a small increase in the number of people remortgaging as 30,710 loans approved for people who are switching to take advantage of better rates elsewhere, according to the ...
by Peter Charalambous
The 2020 Group, which is headed by Bank of England policymaker Kate Barker, has made the recommendation that the UK government should use the construction of public housing as a stimulus to resurrect the construction industry and boost the economy.
The recommendations are to build 100,000 new homes over the next two years in order to prevent shortage ...
by Kay Murchie
According to Royal Mail’s pension scheme trustees, the pension fund is at risk unless action is taken to part-privatise the group.
Jane Newell, the trustees' chairman, said the pension fund's deficit may be "significantly larger" than the £5.9 billion estimated last year.
In a review of the business last year, the pension deficit was seen as the main problem ...
February 24, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were higher Tuesday on gains in US equities markets after the chairman of the US Federal Reserve said that the recession could be over by the end of the year and even though analysts expect US crude oil stockpiles to have gained at least 1 million barrels last week.
West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery added $1.46 ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were lower Tuesday on continuing economic concerns as investors worried about the health of the economy in general and of the financial sector in particular, although banks tended to do well on the session.
The FTSE 100 was 0.89 percent lower to 3,816.44 in London while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.23 percent to 4,905.75.
Insurers were lower on concerns that ...
by Elaine Frei
The Japanese saw more declines Tuesday as economic news for the nation continues to be disappointing and as the approval rating of Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is in Washington, DC, to meet with US President Barack Obama, has dropped to near a record low.
The Prime Minister‘s approval rating has fallen to 11.4 percent and his disapproval rating stands at ...
by Kay Murchie
UK mining firm, Lonmin, is set to reduce headcount by 5,500 at its South African operations as the mining sector is hit by challenging economic conditions.
The company, which is the third largest platinum producer, said the job cuts have been finalised after months of negotiations with trade unions. Around 4,000 jobs could go in Marikana and a further ...
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