Author Archive: Jeremy Parkinson
US jobless claims, price data back low rates policy
Fears that growth could be slowing were heightened by a report showing factory activity in the country’s Mid-Atlantic region braked to its slowest pace in 10 months in June. The employment gauge fell to its lowest level since November. “I don’t know if this is temporary, related to everything that has been going on in […]
Lehman Europe creditors could get speedier payouts
Thousands of creditors of bankrupt US investment bank Lehman Brothers owed about $22bn will be offered earlier cash payments if they are willing to accept lower valuations on their claims. PwC, which is in charge of the collapsed bank’s main European operations, said that the majority of claims should be agreed by the end of […]
Scrapping, tough economy hit May Europe car sales
New passenger car sales fell 9.3 percent in May in the EU as the effects of government support for the car industry slipped away and the economic environment remained difficult, industry association ACEA have announced. Governments helped carmakers hit by the crisis last year with scrapping incentive schemes that boosted demand for new cars, but […]
Resolution plans cash call to fund AXA deal
Acquisitions vehicle Resolution said it would fund its planned takeover of French insurer AXA’s British life operations by raising £2bn ($2.91bn) in a rights issue. The acquisition would cost a total of £2.75bn, Resolution said, adding that it hoped to announce a deal by the end of June. The company, founded by insurance tycoon Clive […]
Spain says has not, will not make EU aid request
Spain’s economy ministry has said it had not made a request for economic aid from the EU, after a newspaper report that the EU was preparing to activate a package in case Madrid asked for it. “This is lie. There’s no rescue. There’s nothing asked for, nor will there be, nothing, but nothing. I don’t […]
South Korean FX controls loom
South Korea’s government, alarmed by the wild swings of the won in turbulent markets, is close to slapping new controls on currency trading, though a news report that banks will get two years to comply calmed investors nerves. As Europe’s debt crisis unfolded, the won’s gyrations exceeded swings of most other currencies and officials in […]
Germany, France press EU over ban on short selling
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have urged European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to consider an EU-wide ban on short selling of shares and state bonds. In a letter published by the German government on June 9, the pair said the Commission should step up efforts to introduce tougher controls for […]
The age of the atom
One of the founding principles of traditional economic theory, is that when making economic decisions, we are independent. Like self-contained atoms in a gas, we only interact by bumping up against each other in the marketplace. In the 19th century, neoclassical economists such as William Stanley Jevons and Léon Walras were directly inspired by the […]
Cameron says Britain must heed Greek warning
Prime Minister David Cameron has told Britons the scale of the country’s budget problems is even worse than he had anticipated and cited crisis-hit Greece as an example of the risk of failing to act. Cameron painted a bleak backdrop two weeks ahead of an emergency budget in which his coalition government will give more […]
BREAKING NEWS: Orban ready to restucture
The Hungarian government’s economic action plan to be published after a release of its report on the budget will contain steps to improve the financial situation and structural changes, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said recently. “It cannot be about…an adjustment, about patching up (the economy)…measures aimed at improving the financial situation must be linked with […]
