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US economy all wound up

US economy all wound up

The plan was announced after the Fed decided it would not use further quantitative easing to counteract slow market growth, but instead make it easier for households and businesses to cut their long-term costs of borrowing. Operation Twist involves the selling of short-term bonds for long-term ones, and is bought in to try and depress […]
Division in the ranks at the G20

Division in the ranks at the G20

Italian prime minister Mario Monti suggested using the European Financial Stability Facility’s (EFSF) €440bn rescue subsidy to buy open market peripheral bonds in an attempt to counteract the rising cost of government bond yields in Spain. “The idea is to stabilise borrowing costs, especially for countries who are complying with their reform agendas, and this […]
G20 aims to fix eurozone

G20 aims to fix eurozone

The group will continue discussions to focus on breaking the link between banks and sovereigns, and tackle other problems like employment growth in the region. The lack of progress being made is said to have frustrated some: “We are waiting for Europe to tell us what it’s going to do,” said World Bank chief Robert […]
Banks given cheap credit

Banks given cheap credit

“Uncertain,” “Paralysing,” and “Pessimistic.” Those were the words Sir Mervyn King used to describe the effects the eurozone crisis has had on the UK economy at his annual Mansion House speech on Thursday evening. The Bank of England Governor was joined by UK Chancellor George Osborne as he addressed an assembly of the city’s most […]
Spanish misery compounds eurozone

Spanish misery compounds eurozone

The country’s credit rating now teeters barely above junk status, amid growing fears it will sink still further after being shut out of international markets. The borrowing interest rates currently stand at the highest they’ve been since the euro’s inception, with the yield on Spain’s 10-year bonds shooting up to 6.86 percent. Last weekend, eurozone […]
Hedge assets to gain $1trn each year for next five

Hedge assets to gain $1trn each year for next five

The predictions come as the trade evolves beyond its entrepreneurial, private roots to meet investor and regulator demands for greater transparency and more robust operations. A recent Citigroup survey predicted that hedge funds could lure $2trn in new money to investment vehicles long associated with mutual-fund companies and other institutional managers including “long-only” funds that […]
Former Goldman director will not testify in ongoing insider trading trial

Former Goldman director will not testify in ongoing insider trading trial

In an unexpected reversal of course, Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs director accused of insider trading, will not testify in his trial according to a letter to the presiding judge. The letter is in direct contradiction to a statement made on Friday afternoon by Gary Naftalis, Gupta’s lawyer, in which he said it would […]
Uncertainty surrounds India’s GAAR implementation

Uncertainty surrounds India’s GAAR implementation

The Indian government decided to defer implementing GAAR for another year after a visit from the US Treasury Secretary in April. General Anti-Avoidance Rules were established to fight tax avoidance by enforcing the country’s tax regulations. The GAAR regulations were part of the proposed Direct Tax Code 2010 to deter sophisticated means of ducking income […]
Spain downgraded as banks face €112bn hit

Spain downgraded as banks face €112bn hit

Fitch sliced its rating on government debt three notches from A to BBB, barely above junk status, blaming the enormous projected cost of cleaning up the country’s troubled banking sector, the deep recession and soaring national debt. The downgrade came after it emerged European officials were weighing up a bailout programme for Spain that would […]
Facebook investors eat humble pie

Facebook investors eat humble pie

The social media giant was plagued with technical problems on its first day of trading, marring it’s highly anticipated stock offering last month. Computer glitches at the Nasdaq delayed the opening of trading by half an hour and kept some investors from buying shares in the morning, selling them later in the day, or even […]