The great interest rate ripp off part 2

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/stats_summary/stats_summary_feb2011.pdf?x=1

http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbctb

The latest national statistics on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit caseload produced by the Department for Work and Pensions were released on 16th February 2011 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. Statistics are based on Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) recipients in Great Britain at November 2008 to November 2010.

The key points from the latest release are:

At November 2010:

The total number of people receiving Housing Benefit was 4.80 million, with 5.80 million claiming Council Tax Benefit.

3.51 million Housing Benefit recipients were aged under 65, representing almost three quarters of all Housing Benefit recipients. 3.52 million Housing Benefit recipients were aged under 65, representing almost three quarters of all Housing Benefit recipients.

Just under 69 per cent of Housing Benefit recipients were tenants of Social Sector landlords.

Just over two thirds of both Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit recipients are in receipt of a Passported Benefit.

The overall average Housing Benefit award is £84.54 per week, and for Council Tax Benefit recipients, the overall average award was £15.88 per week.

3.82 million Housing Benefit recipients were single, with almost two-thirds of these being female. Of the 1.61 million recipients with at least one child dependent, just over 1.11 million of these were single.

Just looking at the report check out the housing benefit claimants and council tax claimants graphs on page 4!

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

Breaking news

Former Goldman Sachs director charged with insider dealing

The SEC alleges UN adviser Rajat Gupta fed tip-offs to Galleon hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam before the information became public
- Lawsuits may cost Goldman $3.4bn
[*] HMV shares plunge on profit warning

Shares drop as HMV warns that 2011 earnings will be below expectations, raising fresh doubts over its prospects

52 comments

[*] Supermarkets warned over food prices

UK food inflation hit 4.6% in February, against a eurozone average of 1.5%, and UBS has said politicians could take action

67 comments
- Supermarket food prices: time for an investigation?
[*] Bank of England questioned on inflation and regulation - as it happened

Graeme Wearden: The Treasury Committee interrogated Mervyn King and colleagues about financial crises and the rising cost of living

25 comments

In pictures: Geneva Motor Show

From a 112-year old hybrid to a Ferrari 4x4, here are the cars exciting the press during previews for the Geneva motor show
New Lloyds boss to speed up asset sales

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group is halting further UK branch closures as its new boss António Horta-Osório completes a strategy overhaul
- HSBC profits double to £12bn
[*] Oil prices soars to more than $114 – highest for two-and-half-years

Surge in oil price rapidly reflected on the forecourts as unleaded petrol breached the 130p-a-litre mark for the first time
- Fed boss faces grilling over petrol prices
[*] More business news

[*] Manufacturing data raises hopes GDP is bouncing back

[*] Barclays may change terms of Egg card rewards

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

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Anger at the banks is justified, Bank of England Governor says

Mervyn King has expressed "surprise" that the public is not more angry with the bankers who caused the recession.

BoE testimony: the highlights

UK manufacturing at record level

UK mortgage lending picks up

Barclays buys Egg credit card assets

Barclays is to buy the British credit card assets of online bank Egg, as part of plans to boost its retail banking business.

The history of Egg

Dotcom darlings: where are they now?

Pearson blocks dividend to Libya

Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times and Penguin, will not pay a dividend to its Libyan shareholder after taking urgent legal advice on freezing the controversial stake.

Shoppers are victims of 'rip-off Britain'

Supermarkets are ripping off British shoppers by raising food prices faster than inflation, risking another competition inquiry, the investment bank UBS has warned in a new report.

Foods with the biggest price rises

Saudi Arabia shares hit 20-month low

Saudi Arabia's stock market tumbled nearly 7pc to a 20-month low on Tuesday after authorities held a Shi'ite cleric, raising fears unrest will spread to world’s biggest exporter of oil.

Citigroup's $40m payout for four executives

Goldman Sachs may face $3.4bn in legal losses

House prices edge higher

HMV warns on profits and bank covenants

China's love for luxury cars boosts GKN

Next stop for the jasmine revolution is the IMF

A Evans-Pritchard

Will 'Chindia' rule the world in 2050, or America?

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

HMV reveals further trading woes

Embattled retailer HMV revealed further trading woes today as it warned it would miss profit targets for the second time this year.

David Prosser: Don't be alarmed by Northern Rock's move back into risky loans

Outlook: There are only 200 products available to buyers with a 10 per cent deposit, down from 800before the financial crisis struck

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?rcom=true&pausevideo=1&videoId=190992109

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/uk-usa-fed-bernanke-idUKTRE7205IB20110301

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a fairly upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy on Tuesday, saying the recent surge in oil prices is unlikely to have a major effect on either growth or inflation, as long as higher prices do not become sustained.

Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee he saw increasing evidence that the economic recovery has enough momentum to be become self-supporting. But job growth remains far too anaemic, he said, indicating Bernanke is not considering cutting short the Fed's $600 billion (368 billion pounds) bond-buying stimulus.

"We do see some grounds for optimism about the job market over the next few quarters," Bernanke said, citing a steep recent decline in the jobless rate among other factors.

Bernanke said downside risks to growth had diminished and, for the first time, stated the risk of deflation was now "negligible." The threat of deflation, a downward spiral in wages and prices that could derail the economy, was a key justification for the Fed's bond-buying spree.

"It's encouraging to see that the risk of deflation is moderating according to the Fed," said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange in Washington. "That's one of the keys that will be necessary for the Fed to wind down its quantitative easing program going forward."

Bernanke reiterated a warning that a failure by Congress to raise the U.S. government's debt ceiling could lead to a debt default that would have dire consequences for the economy.

"It would be extremely dangerous and very likely a recovery-ending event," he said."

You can tell why Bernanke is the head central banker can't you with genius statements like this.

The oil price isn't a problem so long as it doesn't become sustained, followed by we need to print more money to fund the US deficit. As Denniger keeps noting US GDP growth is clearly down to massive deficit spending, the US economy has become a junkie hooked on debt.

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

Oh, Look, Allegations Of Insider Trading!

No, really, there's no insider trading, right?

Board Member of Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble Charged in Insider Trading Scheme

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2011-53

Washington, D.C., March 1, 2011

– The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against a Westport, Conn.-based business consultant who has served on the boards of directors at Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble for illegally tipping Galleon Management founder and hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam with inside information about the quarterly earnings at both firms as well as an impending $5 billion investment by Berkshire Hathaway in Goldman.

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement alleges that Rajat K. Gupta, a friend and business associate of Rajaratnam, provided him with confidential information learned during board calls and in other aspects of his duties on the Goldman and P&G boards. Rajaratnam used the inside information to trade on behalf of some of Galleon’s hedge funds, or shared the information with others at his firm who then traded on it ahead of public announcements by the firms. The insider trading by Rajaratnam and others generated more than $18 million in illicit profits and loss avoidance. Gupta was at the time a direct or indirect investor in at least some of these Galleon hedge funds, and had other potentially lucrative business interests with Rajaratnam.

Nothing to see here, let's move right along. We have a nice fair market and everyone should "invest" in it; there's nobody accused of handing inside information around so they win and you lose.

It's a rigged system, and the proles are just the suckers to be fleeced.

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=181264

http://federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/bernanke20110301a.htm

The lies will continue until morale improves.....

While indicators of spending and production have been encouraging on balance, the job market has improved only slowly. Following the loss of about 8-3/4 million jobs from early 2008 through 2009, private-sector employment expanded by only a little more than 1 million during 2010, a gain barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other entrants to the labor force.

Really?

What improvement? The employment rate is at new lows as of the January job report.

Likewise, the housing sector remains exceptionally weak. The overhang of vacant and foreclosed houses is still weighing heavily on prices of new and existing homes, and sales and construction of new single-family homes remain depressed. Although mortgage rates are low and house prices have reached more affordable levels, many potential homebuyers are still finding mortgages difficult to obtain and remain concerned about possible further declines in home values.

The housing market refuses to clear and stabilize because the banks, which you supervise, have not been forced to eat the bad loans on their books. As a consequence the market-clearing prices have not been achieved, inventory is being intentionally manipulated and the market distorted.

This is your responsibility Beernapke.

FOMC participants see inflation remaining low; most project that overall inflation will be about 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 percent this year and in the range of 1 to 2 percent next year and in 2013

Absolutely - there's no inflation found here:

Or here:

That's a one-year chart. Oh yeah, it's lock-limit up again today.

There's plenty more of course. But none of this is "inflation." Well, not yet. What it will be is either inflation or margin collapse. I'm betting on the latter.

Although overall inflation is low, since summer we have seen significant increases in some highly visible prices, including those of gasoline and other commodities. Notably, in the past few weeks, concerns about unrest in the Middle East and North Africa and the possible effects on global oil supplies have led oil and gasoline prices to rise further.

A doubling in the cost of food in Egypt over the last two years didn't have anything to do with the unrest, right?

That said, sustained rises in the prices of oil or other commodities would represent a threat both to economic growth and to overall price stability, particularly if they were to cause inflation expectations to become less well anchored. We will continue to monitor these developments closely and are prepared to respond as necessary to best support the ongoing recovery in a context of price stability.

How about if they cause riots and destruction of governments via angry mobs that loot and burn everything in sight Would that be a problem for "economic growth"?

My colleagues and I continue to regularly review the asset purchase program in light of incoming information, and we will adjust it as needed to promote the achievement of our mandate from the Congress of maximum employment and stable prices. We also continue to plan for the eventual exit from unusually accommodative monetary policies and the normalization of the Federal Reserve's balance sheet. We have all the tools we need to achieve a smooth and effective exit at the appropriate time.

Liar.

Cessation of QE2 will cause the government to have to actually sell debt into the market, which will cause interest rates to move up, which in turn means that the inability of the government to get its deficit spending under control will become fully-exposed.

And none of these clowns in the Senate has the balls to ask that question. Oh sure, they're dancing around it, but they're not asking the question directly.

PS: Ron Paul won't tomorrow either. Bet on that.

PPS: Bernanke's voice is quavering when being asked about the debt limit. He knows we're on the edge of the cliff.

Denniger on Bernanke's testimony. Got to love his comment about people rioting might just affect economic growth.

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

SEC charges ex-Goldman director in insider case 8:24pm GMT
U.S. stocks sink, oil jumps on Mideast tension 8:29pm GMT
EU bank stress tests will be tougher 7:42pm GMT
TNK-BP nets record $5.8 billion profit in 2010

PPL nears deal to buy E.ON's UK grids - source

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. power firm PPL Corp is close to buying German utility E.ON AG's UK power networks, beating its main rival, Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, a person familiar with the matter said.

7:53pm GMT

Oil jumps on Mideast unrest and supply concerns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices pushed back above $114 a barrel on Tuesday as supply disruptions and the potential for more as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa spreads kept investors on edge.

7:40pm GMT

F1's Williams founders to bank $70 million via IPO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Williams priced its Frankfurt listing at 25 euros per share on Tuesday, putting the Formula One motor racing team's founders in line to bank around 52 million euros (43 million pounds) from selling some of their stake.

6:23pm GMT

Hearings to highlight politics of LSE-TMX deal

TORONTO (Reuters) - Politics may trump the idea of globalization in deciding the fate of a proposed takeover of the TMX Group , raising the spectre of a second foreign-backed deal blocked by Canada in a matter of months.

6:31pm GMT

Glencore IPO trailer highlights valuation dilemma

LONDON (Reuters) - Valuing Glencore is the biggest conundrum facing equity analysts as the Swiss commodity trader spends a second day explaining its business ahead of what could be London's biggest IPO.

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/01/uk-summit-finance-stresstests-idUKTRE7204B720110301

A pending health check to restore credibility in European banks will be far tougher than last year's flawed test and governments need to be ready to prop up lenders who don't pass, a top regulator said.

"We need to learn from the past and move to a more rigorous and serious exercise," Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), told the Reuters Future Face of Finance Summit on Tuesday.

"The macro scenario will be tougher, significantly tougher, than last year in terms of deviation from the base line growth," said Enria on his first day as chairman of the EU's powerful new banking watchdog.

"One important point is for this exercise to work we need to make sure there are backstops for banks," Enria said. "We cannot just publish data showing banks having shortfalls of capital and then the day after nobody is providing capital."

He added: "Last year there was a disaster, where a clean bill of health was given to banks that had major problems a few months after and needed capital injections."

The European Central Bank and European Commission will help again with this year's stress test of largely the same lenders but ultimately the "hot potato is in my hand," Enria said.

The credibility of the EBA, formed at the start of the year, is on the line too, he added.

Last year 91 banks were tested and only seven failed. No banks failed from Ireland, a country the EU and International Monetary Fund had to later bail out.

Apart from factoring in a tougher economic downturn, this year's test will also look at liquidity resilience and shocks from home loans turning sour.

They have a bit of a problem here, they clearly need to have a bailout package ready for the banks they are going to fail, but in failing the banks they are going to cause a even bigger deficit problems as no one has the money to bailout the banks again...

This is one hell of a bailout recovery.

Seriously how many more bailouts can we have? Looks like later in the year there'll be another round of bailouts for the bankers.

interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

1 March 2011 Last updated at 20:42

Gender case hits insurance costs

Women are set to pay higher car insurance premiums and men will get smaller pensions following a European Court of Justice ruling.

Petrol hits record 130p a litre

Rising oil costs push petrol prices to a new record average above 130p per litre and lead Thomas Cook to introduce a fuel surcharge.

Pearson says Libyan shares frozen

Pearson says the stake in the publishing group held by Libya's sovereign wealth fund has been frozen as governments block Libyan assets.

Geneva motor show

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Credit card rates still going up

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Profits warning hits HMV shares

Shares in HMV Group sink 22% after the struggling retailer says full-year profits will miss market expectations of £45m.
Plumbers flushed out in tax push
Barclays to buy Egg credit cards
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Persimmon profits double in 2010
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Ex-Apple employee guilty of fraud
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interestrateripoff · March 1, 2011

More College Graduates Taking Public Service Jobs

By CATHERINE RAMPELL 1:45 PM ET

A cohort of young college graduates has ended up doing good because the economy did them wrong, new data show.

Video: Doing Good in a Bad Economy

J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times

Alison Sadock found a job at Starlight Children’s Foundation, which provides entertainment, education and other support to seriously ill children.

DealBook

Former Goldman Director Charged With Insider Trading

By JEFFREY CANE 2:49 PM ET

The S.E.C. claims that Rajat Gupta, a former managing director of McKinsey, tipped off Galleon Group's founder about Warren E. Buffett's $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs.

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Galliano's Departure From Dior Ends a Wild Fashion Ride

By SUZY MENKES 2:45 PM ET

The designer is the latest to succumb to the pressure from fast fashion and the instant Internet age to create new things constantly.

Dior Fires John Galliano After Bigotry Complaints

Motion Picture Association Hires Ex-Senator Dodd as Chief Executive

By BROOKS BARNES and MICHAEL CIEPLY 57 minutes ago

The former Democratic senator of Connecticut will become the movie association’s top lobbyist and will be charged with reviving the group’s waning influence.

Bernanke Cautious on Economic Growth as Oil Prices Rise

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM 1:29 PM ET

The Fed chief cautioned in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee that a sustained rise in oil prices could be a threat to growth.

Video: Bernanke on the Economic Recovery

Car Sales Rose in February, as Did Gas Prices, Automakers Say

By NICK BUNKLEY 2:12 PM ET

Automakers cautioned that violence in the Middle East and a surge in gasoline prices were threatening to slow the industry’s post-recession recovery.

Auto Executives Brace for Oil Price Increases

Equity Indexes Fall After Construction Spending Declines

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 2 minutes ago

Oil prices rose $2 to $98.98 a barrel as Iran clamped down on anti-government protesters.

U.S. Manufacturing Races While Construction Sags

European Court Bans Gender as Factor in Insurance

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 8:31 AM ET

Under the ruling, insurance companies and pension plans in Europe cannot offer different contracts for men and women because that amounts to sex discrimination.

DealBook

Facebook Reels In Beluga

By EVELYN M. RUSLI

The social network has acquired Beluga, a group messaging service, for an disclosed sum. Under the deal, first reported by TechCrunch, the Beluga co-founders will join Facebook. Read more »

U.S. Cites a Top Chinese Web Site in the Sale of Fake Goods

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 1:35 PM ET

China’s top search engine, Baidu, was among 33 Web sites or public markets in several countries accused of aiding in the trade of counterfeit goods.

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8355703/German-Irish-brinkmanship-raises-EMU-stakes.html

....

A group of 189 German professors has stiffened the Bundestag further by warning of "fatal consequences for the whole process of European integration" if the EU crosses the Rubicon to a de facto debt union.

"I cannot remember any occasion when lawmakers have set guidance like this before: Merkel has very little leeway," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas. "There is going to be disappointment at the summit and that will make life even harder for the EMU periphery."

Mr Redeker said the EU's new criteria for bank stress tests to be agreed this week adds another risk. If the tests are seen as a sham, like last time, they will sap confidence: If too tough, they will revive fears over the capital levels of weaker lenders.

The EU dispute comes as the latest oil spike queers the pitch for vulnerable countries on Europe's fringes. A report by Ernst & Young warns that if oil stays near $120 for the rest of this year, it will cut EMU growth to just 1.1pc this year and 1.2 next.

"We think the peripheral countries would suffer most. Spain, Greece, and Portugal face a double whammy since they have no room to offset the oil shock by slowing the pace of fiscal consolidation," said the author, Marie Diron. Oil at $150 would tip the eurozone back into recession, with the risk of cross-border bank contagion and default by at least one country.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble is hoping for a "grand bargain" in which weaker EMU states agree to stringent discipline in exchange for a boost to the bail-out fund, hoping this will assuage critics at home.

However, Germany's plans for budget vetting and intrusive reforms set off a storm at an EU leaders dinner earlier this month, with some calling it a diktat that trampled on sovereign prerogatives. Mr Schauble has dug in his heels, insisting that "the German government is not willing to make any compromise on this issue."

More of AEP at the link.

Looks like the oil price recession figure has been increase, in the past it was around $90-$100 range which was of course during a boom, now during a financial crisis this figure has naturally increased to $150 which of course makes perfect sense. Although I'm suspecting it's not the recession issue here it's the tipping point for another banking crisis, which makes a Bernanke's printing all the more amusing that he's going to trigger another bank run if he keeps it up, something ironically that he's trying to stop by printing. The wonders of unintended consequences, unless of course Bernanke knows bank failures are inevitable and he's going to blame the oil price, which he naturally has no control over?

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

King says living standards may never recover from the crisis

Sean Farrell: Bank of England Governor strikes dovish note on timing of interest-rate increase.

David Prosser: Price comparison sites have exhausting battle to make themselves heard

Outlook For moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison site, the competition is tough: those darned meerkats, the public face of Compare the Market, are everywhere, not to mention that terrible opera singer, who sings on behalf of Go Compare. It should thank its lucky stars that confused.com, another potential rival, hasn't struck advertising gold for some time now.

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

Breaking news

Profitable ITV on course to rejoin blue-chip stocks

Surge in profits and market capitalisation puts ITV in good position to rejoin ranks of FTSE 100
- Nils Pratley: Crozier puts ITV to rights
[*] News Corp prepared to spin off Sky News as part of BSkyB takeover

Announcement about whether Jeremy Hunt will approve News Corp proposal could come as soon as Thursday

39 comments
- Nils Pratley: Whispering Sky
[*] Hedge funds bounce back with £79bn profit in six months

Top 10 hedge funds made more than the combined net profits of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and HSBC

73 comments
- Ex-Goldman director charged with insider dealing
- Lawsuits may cost Goldman $3.4bn
[*] In pictures: Geneva Motor Show

From a 112-year old hybrid to a Ferrari 4x4, here is what's exciting the press and public at the Geneva motor show

Whitbread buys Coffee Nation for Costa

Chief executive says it is too early to judge the trajectory of the UK consumer economy as sales begin to slip
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[*] Standard Chartered profits up 19%

Asia-focused bank off to a record start this year
- HSBC profits double to £12bn
[*] US municipalities could default on $100bn, warns Roubini thinktank

Buyers of bonds issued by US states and local authorities are being 'Pollyannaish' in ignoring the state of their finances, new report warns

7 comments

[*] Plan to raise women's state retirement age condemned by thinktank

Pensions Policy Institute says setting retirement age at 66 by 2020 gives women 'insufficient notice'

Post your comment

[*] More business news

[*] Mervyn King blames cuts on bank bailouts

652 comments

[*] PPL buys E.ON UK electricity network

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

FTSE closes off lows as banks rally, oil rises

LONDON (Reuters) - Rallying banks boosted by results from Standard Chartered helped the FTSE pare losses Wednesday, but the index still closed lower as geopolitical concerns continued to dog sentiment.

Government may clear News Corp bid for BSkyB soon 8:22pm GMT
TMX, LSE defend tie-up to wary Ontario lawmakers 8:06pm GMT
Merkel urges Portuguese reform, cool on Ireland 7:19pm GMT
Apple's Jobs puts on lively iPad 2 show

Bernanke sees 200,000 hit to jobs from budget cuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday a Republican spending cut plan would not cause a big dent to U.S. economic growth, but could cost around 200,000 jobs over two years.

7:41pm GMT

TNK-BP floats spoiler against BP-Rosneft pact

MOSCOW/TYUMEN (Reuters) - Management of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP has proposed buying a $7.6 billion (4.6 billion pounds) stake in shareholder BP in a bid to join an offshore partnership with Rosneft , sources close to management said. | Video

5:38pm GMT

British companies win JLR contracts

LONDON (Reuters) - Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has awarded more than 2 billion pounds worth of supply contracts for its new Evoque model to British companies.

6:57pm GMT

GSK boss gets $1.2 mln pay cut after poor year

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Chief Executive Andrew Witty's pay was cut by 734,000 pounds to 2.3 million pounds last year after the drugmaker missed its profit targets.

UK 5:25pm GMT

Buffett sees uneven recovery, craves big deals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy is "coming back" and does not need more stimulus, despite an uneven recovery that mirrors the fortunes of businesses at his company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

2 March 2011 Last updated at 19:35

Oil prices go up as tensions rise

Oil prices move closer to their recent highs as the conflict intensifies in an oil-producing area in Libya.

Murdoch agrees Sky News sell-off

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch agrees to sell off Sky News, paving the way for the government to approve his BSkyB takeover.

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Pension age workers on the rise

Double the number of people aged 65 and over are working in the UK compared with a decade ago, official statistics show.

Geneva motor show

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Shares in ITV rise 9% after the broadcaster reported a significant rise in profits for 2010, thanks to a jump in advertising revenue.
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Apple launches second iPad tablet

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Older workers make their mark in the UK

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

Gold hits record high in flight to safety from Libyan violence

Gold hit a record high above $1,436 an ounce on Wednesday as violence in the Middle East and North Africa pushed US oil prices above $100 a barrel triggered a flight to safety.

Europe joins global stock market sell-off

Countries with big gold reserves

German-Irish brinkmanship raises EMU stakes

German bail-out fatigue and fierce resistance to EMU "rescue creep" threaten to derail a eurozone deal, with another risk added by today's talks on the new criteria for EU bank stress tests.

EU raids publishers in ebook price-fixing probe

European investigators raided several major publishers on Wednesday as the worldwide probe into allegations of price-fixing of ebooks stepped up a gear.

ITV's Downton Abbey bounce boosts profits

ITV, the British broadcaster, enjoyed a Downton Abbey bounce to post an 11-fold increase in profits to £286m and said it planned to restore its dividend.

ITV's top shows in pictures

Testing times to come for ITV

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Serco, the company that runs Britain

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Tyre retailer Kwik-Fit sold to Japan's Itochu for £637m

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Construction grows at fastest rate in eight months

British construction activity grew at its fastest pace in eight months in February, bouncing back after it was one of the key factors in a surprise economic downturn at the end of last year.

UK house prices stage surprise rise as mortgage approvals also up

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

Supercycle Growth Smack Talk

Now this is enough to have me rolling on the floor....

Standard Chartered argues that about 10 years ago, the global economy entered a "new super-cycle" of extended growth, one "driven by the industrialization and urbanization of emerging markets and global trade." The expansion is likely to last for "a generation or more." Forecasts in the report run through 2030.

We've seen this kind of surge before, say the bank's analysts. The first supercycle, driven by the industrial revolution and the emergence of the United States, developed between 1870 and 1913. The second wave, powered primarily by Europe's postwar reconstruction and a rise in Asian exports, ran from the end of World War II until the early 1970s.

Uh huh.

What happened between 1870 and 1913? We developed the first round of cheap energy - primarily coal, and that which flowed from it.

What happened from the end of WWII? We developed the second round of cheap energy - petroleum - and that which flowed from it.

But let's not forget - America was ~75 million people in 1900. Now it's roughly 300 million. These nations, primarily India and China, are nearly three billion, and they're adding population fast.

Could we have done what we did in either of those "supercycles" if we had 10x the people and needed to come up with ten times the energy infrastructure and sustain it?

Probably not.

In 1900 this much is certain: We could not have fueled the previous supercycles at ten times the population we had then - 700 million - and today China and India have four times THAT number of people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Depression

Denniger doesn't appear too on the ball here, in the first time frame given there was the long depression.

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV5o149NDuk&feature=player_embedded

interestrateripoff · March 2, 2011

[video=youtube;lXb-LrVkuwM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXb-LrVkuwM&feature=player_embedded

interestrateripoff · March 3, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/business/03mortgage.html?_r=1&ref=business

Even as state attorneys general and regulators in Washington approach the end of their investigation into abuses by the nation’s biggest mortgage companies, deep disputes are emerging over how much to punish the banks as well as exactly who should benefit from a settlement.

The newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is pushing for $20 billion or more in penalties, backed up by the attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

But other regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which oversees national banks, and the Federal Reserve, do not favor such a large fine, contending a small number of people were the victims of flawed foreclosure procedures.

As the negotiations grind on, there are signs that the banks still have not come to grips with the problems plaguing the foreclosure process. These problems burst into view last fall with accounts of so-called robo-signers processing thousands of foreclosures at a time without the required legal safeguards. The resulting furor prompted the attorneys general and other government officials to step in. Some banks suspended foreclosures to review their processes before resuming.

On Monday, though, HSBC disclosed that it had suspended foreclosures after regulators found “deficiencies” in its handling of them. These included problems with court affidavits, notarization, mortgage documentation and oversight of law firms, a spokesman for the lender, which is based in London, said. HSBC declined to say how many homeowners were affected.

“The events of the fall really uncovered and provided a degree of focus on fundamental problems in the way banks service and foreclose on mortgages,” said Paul Leonard of the Center for Responsible Lending. “Regulators have a great opportunity to come up with some serious fixes.”

Assuming, that is, they can agree. As difficult as it is to decide on a figure for any broad settlement, the question of what to do with the money could ultimately prove more vexing.

If only victims of problems at the servicers are helped in a settlement, that would cover a small portion of homeowners who are in default and even fewer of those whose homes are valued at less than they owe.

All the regulators declined to comment publicly on just how close they are to wrapping up a global settlement that would be presented to the banks. But signs of the differences have emerged in public testimony as well as in private conversations with government officials.

Uncle Ben sticking up for the banks again. A nice $20bn fine should help the banks capital requirements, also it will undoubtedly be a tax write off, meaning less taxes..... It's a marvellous can of worms, although what ever fine is agreed upon I bet the consumer doesn't get any. And if a fine is agreed will the civil lawsuits follow, costing even more?

interestrateripoff · March 3, 2011

Breaking news

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[*] Hunt approves News Corp plan

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656 comments
[*] Food prices hit new record high

A UN food price index reached a new record in February, as unrest in Libya pushed up the price of oil, a major part of agricultural production

25 comments

[*] JJB landlords offered incentives

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[*] Hedge funds hit back

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82 comments

Lego profits boosted by Potter magic

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Byron Grote, the finance director, and Iain Conn, the head of refining, have both received payouts of over £100,000 on top of their regular salaries
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[*] In pictures: Geneva Motor Show

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interestrateripoff · March 3, 2011

Trichet flags April ECB rate rise, stuns markets

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank may hike interest rates next month, far earlier than markets expected, though any rise would not signal a series of increases, President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday.

Murdoch gets green light for BSkyB takeover 3:57pm GMT
U.S. data points to strengthening growth 7:39pm GMT
Faster rate hikes may not be needed - Bank's Bean 4:37pm GMT
FTSE rebounds as oil price weakens

Glencore profit jumps on higher commodity prices

LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader, posted a jump in 2010 profit and promised a robust 2011, strengthening its hand for a possible stock market listing that could value it at about $60 billion (36 billion pounds).

5:59pm GMT

Euro and U.S. business gains even as price pressure builds

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Growth in the service sectors in the United States and Europe hit its highest in five years in February, suggesting economic growth is accelerating though inflationary pressures are building.

7:15pm GMT

BP denies bonuses to top executives after spill

LONDON (Reuters) - BP will not pay bonuses for 2010 to the top executives whose divisions were involved in the worst-ever offshore U.S. oil spill last year, the company said in an annual report dominated by the disaster.

4:58pm GMT

Pension funds eye £100 million annual VAT saving

LONDON (Reuters) - Pension schemes could see their costs cut by as much as 100 million pounds per year if Europe's top court exempts them from paying VAT on some fund manager fees.

7:19pm GMT

TUI AG board approves possible Hapag-Lloyd IPO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - TUI AG's supervisory board gave the go-ahead for a possible initial public offering (IPO) of container shipping group Hapag-Lloyd , as TUI aims to sharpen its focus on tourism.