The great interest rate rip off part 1

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12033946

 

The CBI has downgraded its forecast for UK economic growth in the first quarter of 2011.

 

The employers organisation expects growth of 0.2%, down from 0.3%, as public sector jobs and higher-than-expected inflation slow the recovery.

 

But the CBI stressed that it did not expect the UK to fall back into recession, and expected growth in the second quarter to rise to 0.4%.

 

Higher VAT and energy bills will hit consumer spending, the CBI said.

 

CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty said: "Quarterly growth at the start of 2011 is likely to be very sluggish, although we do expect the recovery itself to stay on track.

 

"What is striking is how little we see growth accelerating in 2012. Typically, by the third year of a recovery, growth would be more robust than we expect for either 2011 or 2012."

 

The CBI said that after 0.4% growth in the second quarter, it expects 0.5% for each of the third and fourth quarters, giving a 2% annual growth rate for the year.

 

The CBI also made its first estimate for gross domestic product growth in 2012, which it expects to be 2.4%. This is slower than usual for the third year of a recovery from recession, the CBI said.

 

So we are going to have an ontrack sluggish recovery? WTF is that?

 

You do seem to get the impression if they keep saying we are in a recovery enough we will therefore have a recovery. If only they could take up the recovery enough to create a real recovery.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/dec/20/debt-crisis-threatens-us-cities

 

Overdrawn American cities could face financial collapse in 2011, defaulting on hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowings and derailing the US economic recovery. Nor are European cities safe – Florence, Barcelona, Madrid, Venice: all are in trouble

 

More than 100 American cities could go bust next year as the debt crisis that has taken down banks and countries threatens next to spark a municipal meltdown, a leading analyst has warned.

 

Meredith Whitney, the US research analyst who correctly predicted the global credit crunch, described local and state debt as the biggest problem facing the US economy, and one that could derail its recovery.

 

"Next to housing this is the single most important issue in the US and certainly the biggest threat to the US economy," Whitney told the CBS 60 Minutes programme on Sunday night.

 

"There's not a doubt on my mind that you will see a spate of municipal bond defaults. You can see fifty to a hundred sizeable defaults – more. This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of defaults."

 

New Jersey governor Chris Christie summarised the problem succinctly: "We spent too much on everything. We spent money we didn't have. We borrowed money just crazily. The credit card's maxed out, and it's over. We now have to get to the business of climbing out of the hole. We've been digging it for a decade or more. We've got to climb now, and a climb is harder."

 

American cities and states have debts in total of as much as $2tn. In Europe, local and regional government borrowing is expected to reach a historical peak of nearly €1.3tn (£1.1tn) this year.

 

Cities from Detroit to Madrid are struggling to pay creditors, including providers of basic services such as street cleaning. Last week, Moody's ratings agency warned about a possible downgrade for the cities of Florence and Barcelona and cut the rating of the Basque country in northern Spain. Lisbon was downgraded by rival agency Standard & Poor's earlier this year, while the borrowings of Naples and Budapest are on the brink of junk status. Istanbul's debt has already been downgraded to junk.

 

Whitney's intervention is likely to raise the profile of the issue of municipal debt. While she was an analyst at Oppenheimer, the New York investment bank, in October 2007 she wrote a damning report on Citigroup, then the world's largest bank, predicting it would cut its dividend. She was criticised for being too pessimistic but was vindicated when the bank was forced to seek government support a year later. She has since set up her own advisory firm and is rated one of the most influential women in American business.

 

So will we see the US taxpayer bailout the local US taxpayer.

 

This problem has been highlighted many times but this is the first real prediction that the damn is going to burst.

 

How will they manage to paper over the cracks this time and stop the implosion?

 

Viva recovery.

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New York Times 10th Annual Year in Ideas; #1 Idea: Do-It-Yourself Macroeconomics

 

 

 

For the past 10 years, at the end of the year, the New York Times discusses 10 ideas for the past year. The ideas vary widely and may pertain to social trends, sports, or war. The lead-in idea for 2010 was "Do-It-Yourself Macroeconomics".

 

It certainly is an honor to be mentioned along with the Big Picture and Calculated Risk. Here is a snip from the 10th Annual Year in Ideas.

 

For the 10th consecutive December, the magazine has chosen to look back on the past year through a distinctive prism: ideas.

 

Our digest of short entries refracts the light beam of human inspiration, breaking it up into its constituent colors — innovations and insights from a spectrum of fields, including economics, biology, engineering, medicine, literature, sports, music and, of course, raw-meat clothing. Happy thinking!

 

D.I.Y. Macroeconomics

 

Until recently, the economics profession largely controlled the production, dissemination and interpretation of economic data. Now there’s a new trend afoot: do-it-yourself macroeconomics, in which ordinary citizens pull apart the data and come to their own conclusions.

 

The democratization of economics owes much to the financial crisis that first hit in 2007. That ongoing catastrophe, which few economists predicted, tarnished the profession’s reputation, prompting some to look elsewhere for answers. They turned to — where else? — the Internet, where vast amounts of economic data that had once been hidden from public view were now online. Sites like FRED, maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, enabled anyone with a connection to the Web to download data on everything from local home-price indexes to credit-card balances to weekly fluctuations in diesel prices.

 

At the same time, a growing army of knowledgeable “econo-bloggers” began analyzing the data available online. Strikingly, many of the authors of these blogs — the brains behind the Big Picture, Calculated Risk, Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis and others — aren’t academic economists but people with real-world experience in financial markets. Their Web sites offer sophisticated interpretations of economic data and hold passionate debates with their readers over the merits of the data. As a result, economic data that were formerly greeted with grudging acceptance by the public — the latest unemployment figures, for example — are now the catalyst for endless popular exegeses.

Please see the article for a wide variety of other ideas.

[interestrateripoff]

Breaking news

 

• Texas, home to Big Oil, takes shine to solar power - Reuters
  
• Hedge funds may skirt direct Fed scrutiny -source - Reuters
  
• EMERGING MARKETS-Brazil real up; Chile peso at fresh 31-mo high - Reuters
  
• Genzyme argues Campath value in Sanofi fight - Reuters
  
• Genzyme argues Campath value in Sanofi fight - Reuters
  
• Medtronic CEO to retire; outside search started - Reuters
  
• Boeing in satellite pact with Mexico government - Reuters
  
• European stocks hit 27-month high; utilities surge - Reuters
  
• Nasdaq OMX in big share buyback; stock soars - Reuters
  

 

 

 

• Vince Cable could break ranks to expose City's top earners
   
  Last updated 12 minutes ago
  Business secretary wants to 'shine a light' on banks but Cameron and Osborne say Britain must not act alone
   
  
  • Bank showdown on hold as Osborne is stranded
    
  • RBS seeks to pay cash bonuses
    

  [*] Ernst & Young faces legal action over Lehman collapse

   

  Case by New York attorney general focuses on use of 'repos' to bolster bank's accounts

  [*] Disappointment over bonuses 'set to spark thousands of job searches in City'

   

  Survey by recruitment firm finds that disappointment over annual payouts is 'almost inevitable'

  6 comments

  [*] JP Morgan buys Lehman's London HQ

   

  Plans for £495m purchase of Canary Wharf offices quells fears that bank would quit London in protest at bonus restrictions

  54 comments

  • Developer turns to India to sell Docklands towers
    

  [*] OpenCorporates: why we're crying out for this database of companies

   

  Chris Taggart explains how you can search for data on nearly 4m companies - and why it will change how we see business

  3 comments

 

 

• Festive financial fun
   
  The business Christmas special
   
  Flattering pants, supersized suits and cheesey handouts ... a lighter look at the business world over the past 12 months
  
  
• $2tn debt crisis threatens to bring down 100 US cities
   
  Overdrawn US cities could face financial collapse in 2011, defaulting on hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowings and derailing economic recovery
  
• Retailers suffer as weather hits sales
   
  Retail shares on the slide as weather continues to cause chaos following weekend disruption
  7 comments
  
  • Last-minute shoppers risk empty shelves
    
  • Poll: Have delivery issues put you off buying online?
    

  [*] More business news

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  [*] Online gaming boosts Gibraltar

   

  • Ladbrokes in talks to buy 888 internet casino
    

  [*] Pontin's future in doubt as bidders look to bulldoze sites

[interestrateripoff]

UK economy to avoid double dip recession next year, says CBI

 

 

The British economy will escape a "double dip" next year, but households face a tight squeeze on living standards from higher-than-expected inflation, rising interest rates and tax rises, according to forecasts from a leading employers' organisation.

 

• Business confidence falls to 18-month low
  
• Households stay cautious and reluctant to spend
  

 

Stephen King: Policymakers have their work cut out as the West remains on life support

 

 

Outlook: Exports have picked up, but not as much as you'd expect given the support from 2008's sterling devaluation, while inflation has risen

Bankers' showdown postponed because of the weather

 

 

Plans for a showdown meeting today between ministers and banking chiefs have been postponed because of travel disruption caused by heavy snowfall.

 

 

• Households stay cautious and reluctant to spend
  
• Government to set out plans to support defence exports
  
• London proves pricey for knock-off goods
  
• Gold miners eye higher prices in the year ahead
  
• EU expected to clear News Corp's Sky bid
  
• Business confidence falls to 18-month low
  
• Cross-border deals by UK companies at 10-year high
  

 

James Moore: How the banks took revenge on the politician once known as St Vince

 

 

Outlook: Should I be watching my back if I were a banking executive?

 

 

• James Moore: Bankers aren't the only ones on big pay packets
  
• James Moore: What the world is trying to tell us
  
• David Prosser: Are they playing politics at the Office of Fair Trading?
  
• David Prosser: How best to measure house prices
  
• David Prosser: Banks to seek billions of euros
  

[interestrateripoff]

Europe's airlines, travellers suffer in snow, ice

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Snow and freezing temperatures grounded flights across northern Europe Monday, with travellers trying to get away for Christmas set to be frustrated further with more severe weather on the horizon.

Continue Reading

 

 

 

Utilities buoy FTSE as big freeze hits BA

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Utility stocks helped push top shares higher on Monday, as the UK's near-Arctic conditions boosted demand for energy, but British Airways toiled as the big freeze disrupted airline services.

Aerospace & Defence 4:56pm GMT

 

OECD wants Spain tax rises if targets prove tricky

 

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain should raise taxes further if its budget plan goes off course and reforms to pensions and banks are vital to boost an economy which will remain weak for years, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said.

2:21pm GMT

 

Banks brace for more bonus scrutiny

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Bonus payouts are set to come under further scrutiny this week, with bank bosses bracing for talks with the chancellor as they start drawing up compensation plans to incorporate new rules curbing pay.

2:54pm GMT

 

JPMorgan buys London headquarters

 

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. bank JPMorgan has bought two major office properties in London, including the former Lehman Brothers building, holding off on plans to build a skyscraper as its main European headquarters.

UK, 7:08pm GMT

 

ECB's Trichet says Ireland must stick to bailout plan

 

PARIS (Reuters) - European Central Bank head Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday euro zone countries must do more individually and collectively to combat the bloc's debt crisis, and Ireland must stick "rigorously" to its bailout plan.

2:58pm GMT

 

Basel eyes rules to push use of central counterparties

 

ZURICH (Reuters) - Global banking regulators proposed on Monday that banks should only have to set aside small amounts of capital when dealing with supervised central counterparties, in a consultative paper aimed at further stabilising the financial system.

G20 5:28pm GMT

 

Greek PM says euro zone needs stronger action

 

ATHENS (Reuters) - The euro zone needs stronger action to stem a severe debt crisis, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Monday.

5:38pm GMT

 

Groupon names ex-Amazon exec as CFO

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Groupon has brought in a former Amazon.com Inc executive as its new chief financial officer, the discount coupon provider said.

5:26pm GMT

 

RBS in talks over £50,000 cap on bonuses - report

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks with UK Financial Investments to secure a 50,000 pound cap on cash bonuses ahead of the annual pay round, according to a Sky News blog.

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20 December 2010 Last updated at 16:54

 

CBI revises growth forecast down

 

The CBI cuts its forecast for UK first quarter economic growth and says it expects interest rates to start rising in the spring.

 

• UK inflation rate rises to 3.3%
  
• Unemployment in UK rising again
  

 

Snow hits major retailers' shares

 

Shares in UK retailers fall after the severe weather stopped many shoppers from reaching the High Street at the weekend.

 

• Snow causing further travel woe
  
• Snow travel chaos: Your rights
  

 

 

Mortgage freeze felt in November

 

UK mortgage lending fell 5% in November compared with the previous month and was down 10% on a year ago, lenders say.

 

• Repossessions to rise say lenders
  
• Dark art of obtaining a mortgage
  

 

 

 

• BAE is linked to Tanzania 'bribe'
   
  A judge suggests that part of a secret £7.7m payment made by BAE Systems to a businessman in Tanzania was a bribe.
  
• Ladbrokes in 888 takeover talks
   
  Shares in online betting firm 888 Holdings soar after it confirms it is in talks to be bought by larger rival Ladbrokes.
  
• ECB concerns over Irish bail-out
   
  The European Central Bank expresses concerns the Irish Republic's bail-out could affect its ability to support other eurozone members.
  
• Empty houses decline in England
  
• Vacant homes rise in Scotland
  
• JP Morgan reveals new London HQ
  
• Doorstep lenders told to improve
  
• Rail strike over bank holiday pay
  
• Heinz staff to stage more strikes
  
• Spain in need of 'major reforms'
  
• High-speed rail is to be altered
  
• Cameron in union talks over cuts
  
• Sasol agrees $1bn Canada gas deal
  
• Universities face 6% teaching cut
  

 

 

Rate debate

 

A cruel and unusual time for savers

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[/url]

 

 

Euro falls amid continuing debt crisis fears

 

The euro declined as fears about the region's sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on the single currency.

Allied Irish Banks moves £7.9bn loans to 'bad bank'

 

 

ECB raises concerns about rights to Irish bank collateral

 

 

 

 

BoE 'will have to raise interest rates in spring'

 

The Bank of England's credibility has once again been thrown into question after the CBI suggested the central bank's inflation and interest rate expectations were too conservative.

'Let savers take the hit if banks fail'

 

 

House prices predicted to drop 7pc next year

 

 

 

Snow could force retailers to issue profit warnings

 

Shares in some of the UK's biggest retailers fell sharply on Monday amid fears that the arctic weather sweeping the UK has dented sales in the most important trading week of the year.

 

Will the Chinese wine bubble go pop?

 

Is a wine bubble brewing in the South China Sea? The price of fine wines, like many commodities, is being determined by China – and demand from the country's new millionaires remains insatiable.

Fine wines are booming in the UK as well as in China

 

 

What can you buy for the price of a Lafite Rothschild 1982

 

 

 

Marathon looms for HSBC's ex-chief Michael Geoghegan

 

 

 

 

MG cars to be sold in Britain again

 

 

 

 

Ofcom outlines new product placement rules

 

 

 

 

Sherborne becomes F&C's biggest shareholder

 

 

 

 

RBS seeks cash bonus green light

 

 

 

 

JP Morgan moves in to Lehman Brothers building

 

 

Allied Irish Banks moves £7.9bn loans to 'bad bank'

 

Allied Irish Banks has handed over property loans worth €9.3bn (£7.9bn) to the country's bad bank as the lender's debt was downgraded along with that of many of Ireland's other major banks.

 

Novartis to build plant in Russia

 

 

 

Fine wines are booming in the UK as well as in China

 

 

 

 

What can you buy for the price of a Lafite Rothschild 1982

[interestrateripoff]

Cuomo Seen to Sue Ernst & Young

 

By PETER LATTMAN 12:44 PM ET

 

The New York attorney general is said to be preparing to file a lawsuit against the auditor of Lehman Brothers.

 

• DealBook: What About Lehman?
  

DealBook

 

S.E.C. Sues Former Carter's Executive

 

By THOMAS KAPLAN

 

The S.E.C. also announced that it had agreed not to bring charges against Carter's, which self-reported the alleged financial misstatements -- the first such deal since the agency started an initiative to encourage companies to report violations of securities laws.

 

DealBook

 

AT&T to Buy Qualcomm Spectrum for $1.9 Billion

 

By DEALBOOK 10:54 AM ET

 

The deal for the licenses, which encompass more than 300 million people, will expand AT&T's 4G capacity.

 

Wall Street Shares Start to Drift Higher

 

By REUTERS 22 minutes ago

 

Indexes looked to extend three weeks of gains with some investors expecting a rally during a thinly traded, holiday-shortened week.

 

• European Central Bank Reduces Bond Purchases
  

 

Weighing Costs, Companies Favor Temporary Help

 

By MOTOKO RICH

 

There is concern that temporary employees will become a more entrenched part of the work force.

 

This Bonus Season on Wall Street, Many See Zeros

 

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SUSANNE CRAIG

 

Traders, bankers and brokers face a bonus of nothing, and if their salaries have doubled, that is little consolation.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/business/20bonus.html?_r=1&ref=business

 

Bonus season is fast approaching on Wall Street, but this year the talk does not center just on multimillion-dollar paydays. It’s about a new club that no one wants to join: the Zeros.

 

Drawn from a broad swath of back-office employees and middle-level traders, bankers and brokers, the Zeros, as they have come to be called, are facing a once-unthinkable prospect: an annual bonus of ... nothing.

 

“It’s going to a cause a lot of panic on Wall Street,” said Richard Stein of Global Sage, an executive search firm. “Everybody is talking about it, but they’re actually concerned about it becoming public. I would not want to be head of compensation at a Wall Street firm right now.”

 

In some ways, a zero bonus should not come as a surprise to many bankers. As a result of the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and banks like Citigroup raised base pay substantially in 2009 and 2010. They were seeking to placate regulators who had argued that bonuses based on performance encouraged excessive risk.

 

At Goldman, for instance, the base salary for managing directors rose to $500,000 from $300,000, while at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse it jumped to $400,000 from $200,000.

Even though employees will receive roughly the same amount of money, the psychological blow of not getting a bonus is substantial, especially in a Wall Street culture that has long equated success and prestige with bonus size. So there are sure to be plenty of long faces on employees across the financial sector who have come to expect a bonus on top of their base pay. Wall Streeters typically find out what their bonuses will be in January, with the payout coming in February.

 

One executive, whose firm prohibited discussing the topic with the news media, said the bump in base salaries had confused people, even though their overall compensation was the same. “People expect a big bonus,” this person said. “It is as if they don’t even see their base doubled last year.”

 

Dealing with the Zeros can be complicated. “It’s a real headache,” said another senior banker, who asked not to be identified because the topic is so volatile at his company. There has been so much grousing that in some cases, he said, “we’ll throw $20,000 or $25,000 at each of the Zeros so they’re not discouraged.”

 

“No matter what we pay people, it is never enough and they always find something to complain about,” this banker said.

 

While Zeros are turning up in the ranks of back-office employees and midtier bankers and traders who typically earn $250,000 to $500,000, their bosses way up the compensation ladder are still expected to notch handsome paydays in the millions.

 

Wow how will these people cope, pay doubled and a bonus of nothing, but hey you might just get lucky and get a $25k pay rise thrown at you just so diddums doesn't get discouraged or upset.

 

Meanwhile on main street the average joe gets to slave away on a temporary contract and lower pay, whilst footing the bill for the financial sector collapsing. It's tough at the bottom but at least you won't be a zero.

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http://www.zerohedge.com/article/245-trillion-us-national-debt-144-trillion-unfunded-liabilities-2015

 

By now everyone has seen and played with the US debt clock via usdebtclock.org whereby anyone who so wishes, can find every little detail about America's current sad fiscal state. The fact that America currently has just under $14 trilllion in national debt should be no surprise to anyone who professes to having an even modest interest in the state of the US economy. Yet a new feature on the "debt clock", namely one which extrapolates future debt at current rates of advancement (instead of one based on the always completely inaccurate CBO estimates), and looks at US debt in the year 2015 will probably make many stop dead in the their tracks. If anyone thought that $14 trillion in 2010 debt is bad, just wait until we hit $24.5 trillion in total US national debt in 2015. And it gets even more surreal: total US Unfunded Liabilities are estimated at $144 trillion, roughly $1.2 million per taxpayer... Was that a pin dropping?

As Zero Hedge has long been predicting, we anticipate roughly $2 trillion in incremental debt per year. Surprisingly we are not far too off from where the "debt clock" sees US leverage in 5 years. At an estimated $24.5 trillion in federal debt, our $2 trillion per year run rate is spot on. Another thing that is spot on: our prediction that the US will need not one but two debt ceiling increases in 2011. And probably 6-8 over the next 5 years.

Some other observations for the US economy in 2015 simply assuming current conditions persist:

 

• Federal spending will be $3.3 trillion per year, and with federal revenue of $2.3 trillion (this number will be reduced as it also assumes $731 billion in payroll tax, a number which will likely be indefinitely reduced) the result is a budget deficit of $983.7 billion.
  
• Annual Medicare/Medicaid expenses will be just over $1 trillion
  
• US population: 326.8 million
  
• US workforce 131.3 million (and declining)
  
• Officially unemployed: 19.4 million
  
• Actual unemployed: 22.3 million
  
• State/Federal employees: 17.9 million
  
• People on SSN and other retirees: 72.6 million
  

And the most critical data:

 

• Food stamp recipients: 89.7 million
  
• Foreclosures: 2 million
  
• Social Security Liability: $19 trillion
  
• Medicare Liability: $99 trillion
  
• Total US Unfunded Liabilities: $144 trillion
  
  
• Gross Debt to GDP: 143%
  

Should one of the bolded predictions hit, the travails of Greek and Irish bondholders will be nothing compared to what those unlucky enough to be in possession of US debt in 2015 will have to go through.

 

Extrapolation doesn't always work however even if this is out by a a factor of 10 the US economy is still screwed.

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-20/france-s-aaa-grade-at-risk-as-rating-downgrades-sweep-europe-euro-credit.html

 

France risks losing its top AAA grade as Europe’s debt crisis prompts a wave of downgrades that threatens to engulf the region’s highest-rated borrowers, with Belgium also facing a possible cut.

Moody’s Investors Service said Dec. 15 it may lower Spain’s rating, citing “substantial funding requirements,” and slashed Ireland’s rating by five levels on Dec. 17. Standard & Poor’s is reviewing its assessments of Ireland, Portugal and Greece. Costs to insure French government debt rose to a record today with the country’s credit default swaps more expensive than lower-rated securities from the Czech Republic and Chile.

 

Remember it's all contained.

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8215241/Snow-could-force-retailers-to-issue-profit-warnings.html

 

Analysts believe that there could be some pre-Christmas profit warnings from national store groups as they face the reality of depressed sales.

 

Meanwhile, shares in BA, the airline, fell as thousands of holiday makers were forced to abandon Christmas getaway plans and return home as a result of the worst weather in years.

 

In a rising stock market, shares in retailers dropped markedly. Shares in HMV Group fell 9.5pc to 28.5p, shares in Dixons Retail fell 6pc to 22.8p, while shares in computer games store Game Group fell 5.5pc to 65p. WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Tesco were also down. BA closed down 5 at 265.2p.

 

With just a few shopping days remaining until Christmas, analysts said that store groups might be forced to issue profit warnings due to the terrible weather.

 

And today we have a story about profit warnings.

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8215167/Lloyds-and-RBS-escaped-3.9bn-toxic-fees.html

 

In a report on the giant taxpayer-backed insurance scheme, which was set up in 2009 to prevent the lenders' collapse, the National Audit Office (NAO) argued that Lloyds should have paid up to £4.5bn for temporary use of the insurance. Ultimately, Lloyds paid £2.5bn to pull out of the APS in October last year – seven months after placing £260bn of bad assets in a provisional version.

 

RBS placed £282bn in the fully-formed APS in November 2009, when the minimum exit fee was also set at £2.5bn. The Government also injected another £25.5bn into the bank, lifting the taxpayer's stake to 83pc. The NAO said an exit fee of £4.4bn "could have been justified".

 

Under the terms of the deal struck with RBS, the bank will bear the first £60bn of losses and 10pc of any subsequent hit. As of September, losses on APS assets stood at £37bn. The NAO found that the taxpayer will bear a cost, after fees, if losses on the £282bn portfolio top £76bn.

 

Once losses reach £73bn, the report also found, "the financial incentive on RBS to restrict further losses would weaken significantly". A severe stress test carried out by the Treasury found that losses could hit £98bn, but that was an "unlikely outcome".

 

The Asset Protection Agency, which is responsible for ensuring RBS runs the APS assets in the taxpayers' best interests, has estimated "there may be a temporary breach of the first loss by the end of 2011, but subsequent recoveries are expected to keep the lifetime expected net loss at £57bn", the NAO pointed out.

 

Is it fair to assume that losses are likely to exceed £98bn as the Treasury deem it unlikely? I wonder what criteria where put on the Irish assets?

 

Thank god the recovery has been factored in to the predicted losses. I'm feeling confident now.

[interestrateripoff]

Breaking news

 

• ConAgra profit falls, looks ahead to price hikes - Reuters
  
• Carnival posts strong fourth-quarter earnings - Reuters
  
• US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall st opens up on earnings, M&A - Reuters
  
• TD Bank to buy Chrysler Financial for $6.3 bln - Reuters
  
• Q+A-Can China's Xinmao win with $1.3 bln Draka bid? - Reuters
  
• European freeze haunts Christmas for airlines, shops - Reuters
  
• BOJ extends dollar swap agreement with Fed - Reuters
  
• GSK may face industrial action at UK Ribena site - Reuters
  
• Ukraine delays $1.3 bln Ukrtelecom stake sale - Reuters
  

 

 

 

• UK government borrowing hits new record high
   
  £22.77bn figure for November raises fears that George Osborne may miss budget targets for current financial year
  149 comments
  
  • Public borrowing: What the economists are saying
    

  [*] Portugal facing downgrade threat

   

  Moody's credit rating agency puts the country under review and the interest rate on Portuguese government debt hits 6.46% this morning

  98 comments

  • Poll: Should we listen to the credit rating agencies?
    

  [*] EC clears News Corp's BSkyB takeover

   

  European authorities unconditionally approve deal, which will now be considered by business secretary Vince Cable. By James Robinson

  46 comments

  • EC statement on News Corp's BSkyB takeover
    

  [*] Cable could break ranks over top earners

   

  Business secretary wants to 'shine a light' on banks as he and the chancellor prepare for a showdown with Britain's lenders today

   

  • Cable sorry he said he could bring coalition down
    
  • Viewpoint: Cable dances off in Strictly Pay Restraint
    
  • Treasury 'undercharged banks by £4bn'
    

  [*] Alexon blames snow for profit warning

   

  The owner of Eastex and Ann Harvey targets older customers and has been particularly hard hit by the wintery weather with £1.5m wiped off full-year profits

  1 comment

  • High street sales plummet with the temperature
    
  • Icy blast puts the skids under growth forecasts
    
  • UK gas demand hits record levels
    
  • UK snow proves a bonus for local shops
    
  • Retailers left in despair over weather
    
  • Consumer confidence near year-low
    

 

 

• More festive financial fun
   
  The business Christmas special
   
  Flattering pants, supersized suits and cheesey handouts ... a lighter look at the business world in the past 12 months
  
  
• Irish developers still living the high life
   
  Last night TV viewers in Ireland saw that for some property magnates, it's like the financial crisis never happened, writes Lisa O'Carroll
  4 comments
  
  • NAMA now one of world's biggest property lenders
    

  [*] Toyota hit by $32.4m fine over recalls

   

  Last updated five minutes ago

  US government fines Japanese carmaker for failing to swiftly recall vehicles with steering and brake faults

  Post your comment

  [*] $2tn debt crisis threatens 100 US cities

   

  Overdrawn US cities could face financial collapse in 2011, defaulting on hundreds of billions of dollars of borrowings and derailing economic recovery

   

  • European cities also threatened by debt crisis
    

  [*] E&Y faces legal action over Lehman

   

  Case by New York attorney general focuses on use of 'repos' to bolster bank's accounts

   

  • JP Morgan buys Lehman's London HQ
    
  • Nils Pratley: JP Morgan's substantial bet
    

  [*] More business news

  [*] Aggreko wins London 2012 Olympics deal worth £37m

  [*] Tributes paid to euro's founding father

   

  • Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa obituary
    

  [*] Online gaming boosts Gibraltar

   

  • Ladbrokes in talks to buy 888 internet casino
    

[interestrateripoff]

Ill winds blow British economy no good

 

 

The bad weather will "significantly" affect the UK economy and damage a still fragile recovery, according to leading economic researchers.

 

• Fraud charges loom over Ernst & Young in the US
  
• Government under pressure over record borrowing new
  
• BAE systems fined for accounting failures
  
• JP Morgan to move into former Lehman tower
  
• BAE faces fine over Tanzanian radar contract
  
• Shares in 888 soar as Ladbrokes mulls bid
  
• RBS in talks to pay cash bonuses of up to £50,000
  

 

David Prosser: French protectionism might make us smile, but it is still dangerous

 

Outlook: Britain may stick by its liberal approach to clearing foreign takeovers of domestic companies, but others will heed calls for bars on overseas buyers

 

 

• James Moore: How the banks took revenge on the politician once known as St Vince
  
• James Moore: Bankers aren't the only ones on big pay packets
  
• James Moore: What the world is trying to tell us
  
• David Prosser: Are they playing politics at the Office of Fair Trading?
  
• David Prosser: How best to measure house prices
  

 

Broadcasters lick lips as product placement lands

 

British TV is going the way of US channels – but with stricter rules. Nick Clark reports

 

 

• The Business On: Colin Matthews, Chief executive, BAA
  
• 'Ah, the language of handbags says it all'
  
• Merger Monday sees rainmakers return to form
  
• Coffee takes over the high street
  
• The business on...Ian Dyson, Chief executive, Punch Taverns
  

[interestrateripoff]

European freeze haunts Christmas for airlines, shops

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Northern Europe's big freeze wreaked more havoc with flights on Tuesday as airports struggled to cope and retailers fretted they would struggle to make up lost sales in the few shopping days left before Christmas. | Video

Continue Reading

 

 

 

News Corp wins EU approval for BSkyB bid

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has won unconditional approval from the European Commission for its bid to acquire pay-TV operator BSkyB but still faces scrutiny by the communications watchdog.

UK 1:22pm GMT

 

FTSE higher as commodity and bank shares push ahead

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The top share index held firm around midday Tuesday, led by strength in commodity shares and a bounce by banks, though volumes were thin as the Christmas holidays approached.

12:19pm GMT

 

Public borrowing hits record high in November

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Public borrowing unexpectedly surged in November to its highest on record, casting doubt over the government's ability to meet its deficit reduction target for the current financial year.

UK, 12:59pm GMT

 

Portugal faces rating cut, Spanish debt costs rise

 

LISBON/MADRID (Reuters) - Portugal was put on notice that its credit rating could be cut and fellow euro zone debtor Spain had to pay more to issue new debt on Tuesday, suggesting the currency bloc's crisis will rage unabated in 2011.

2:53pm GMT

 

Irish bank bill facing fresh complication

 

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland risked a fresh complication to radical plans to overhaul its financial sector on Tuesday with a controversial new banking law facing a possible constitutional veto by the country's top court.

2:34pm GMT

 

Juncker says euro zone bond idea has virtues

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - The proposal to introduce euro zone bonds should be analytically assessed because it has its virtues, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said in a German TV interview to be aired later on Tuesday.

2:35pm GMT

 

Government to talk tough on bank bonuses

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Government ministers met senior bankers on Tuesday and were expected to press them to rein in bonuses and step up lending to businesses.

1:57pm GMT

 

TD Bank to buy Chrysler Financial for $6.3 billion

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank will buy Chrysler Financial from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $6.3 billion (4.1 billion British pounds), joining the throng of Canadian institutions expanding foreign operations.

2:45pm GMT

 

AstraZeneca drops lung drug and takes $445 million charge

 

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has discontinued development of its experimental drug motavizumab for preventing serious lung disease in infants and will take a charge of $445 million (286 million pounds).

[interestrateripoff]

21 December 2010 Last updated at 13:49

 

UK borrowing rises to record high

 

The amount of new public sector borrowing hit a fresh all-time high in November, says the Office for National Statistics.

 

Toyota agrees record $32.4m fine

 

Toyota agrees to pay a record fine in the US of $32.4m over its handling of millions of car recalls.

 

 

BAE fined over Tanzania payments

 

BAE Systems is fined £500,000 for failing to keep proper records of payments to an adviser on a Tanzania radar deal.

 

• BAE planning to cut 1,400 UK jobs
  
• High Court halts BAE settlement
  

 

 

 

• Fresh fall in UK property sales
   
  UK home sales fell in November, HM Revenue & Customs says, as the property market shows little sign of life.
  
• Cold weather hits Alexon profits
   
  Womenswear retailer Alexon Group warns that its annual profits will be cut by £1.5m after the freezing weather hits sales.
  
• Challenge to cut tax credit fraud
   
  Tax authorities are facing a challenge to meet a target to cut the level of fraud and error in the tax credits system.
  
• EU brands airports 'weak link'
  
• EU approves Murdoch's BSkyB bid
  
• Bank scheme 'did not lift loans'
  
• German consumer sentiment slips
  
• AstraZeneca halts work on drug
  
• MPs say 'rethink youth job fund'
  
• Bank of Japan keeps rates on hold
  
• Medvedev seals India visit deals
  
• Train contract 'would save £100m'
  
• Cable 'suggested he could quit'
  
• Dell founder buys $100m of shares
  

[interestrateripoff]

[/url]

 

 

UK budget deficit balloons to record high

 

Britain's public borrowing unexpectedly hit a record £23.3bn in November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday.

Consumer confidence 'on brink' of collapse

 

 

 

 

BAE fined over Tanzania radar sale

 

Britain's biggest defence company takes hit as six-year corruption investigation brought to a close.

Timeline of bribery allegations

 

 

From robotic spiders to warships: 10 BAE innovations

 

 

 

'Untenable policies will lead to euro break-up'

 

Pimco, the world's largest bond fund, has called on Greece, Ireland and Portugal to step outside the eurozone temporarily and restructure their debts unless the currency bloc agrees to a radical change of course.

Euro rises as China supports EU debt action

 

 

Allied Irish Banks moves £7.9bn loans to 'bad bank'

 

 

 

Snow could force retail profit warnings

 

Alexon, the women's clothing group, reinforces investor fears by becoming the first retailer to warn that 'extreme weather conditions' are hitting sales in the run up to Christmas.

 

Lloyds and RBS escaped £3.9bn toxic fees

 

 

 

 

JP Morgan to make £495m Canary Wharf site its UK HQ

 

 

 

 

Ernst and Young faces lawsuit over Lehman accounts

 

 

 

 

Infrastructure costs could be cut by £30bn, says Treasury

 

 

 

 

News Corp welcomes European clearance for BSkyB deal

 

 

 

 

Astra takes $445m hit after halting work on lung drug

 

 

Competition could cure the banking sector

 

The Coalition should sharpen competitive pressure in the banking sector, argues David Green.

Euro rises as China supports EU debt action

 

 

 

 

Consumer confidence 'on brink' of collapse

 

 

 

 

Euro falls amid continuing debt crisis fears

[interestrateripoff]

Homes at Risk, and No Help From Lawyers

 

By DAVID STREITFELD

 

 

To protect homeowners seeking loan modifications, California banned payment to lawyers before the work was done. Now lawyers say they cannot afford to help.

 

• New Jersey Threatens Freeze on Foreclosures
  
• Post a Comment | Read (34)
  

 

 

 

J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times

 

Gregory Royston, a real estate lawyer, said winning modifications to mortgages was never easy and often impossible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DealBook

 

TD to Buy Chrysler Financial for $6.3 Billion

 

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED 8:30 AM ET

 

The deal will help the private equity firm Cerberus see some return on its troubled takeover of Chrysler.

 

A Warning to Portugal as Spain Sells Bonds

 

By REUTERS 8:28 AM ET

 

Spain held a successful debt auction, though it had to pay higher yields, shortly after the ratings agency Moody’s put Portugal on review for a possible downgrade.

 

• Spain Says Regional Governments Are on Track to Meet Deficit Reduction Targets
  

 

Wall Street Rides Latest Round of Deals

 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 16 minutes ago

 

Investors have been also encouraged by improving data on retail sales, as well as policy changes such as the extension of Bush-era tax cuts.

 

DealBook

 

A Lehman Case Emerges More Than 2 Years After Collapse

 

By PETER LATTMAN and SUSANNE CRAIG

 

Regulators are preparing to file the first major legal action stemming from the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

 

• DealBook: What About Lehman?
  

 

DealBook

 

News Corp. Bid for BSkyB Gets Nod From E.U.

 

By CHRIS V. NICHOLSON

 

The European Commission said Tuesday that it had approved News Corp.'s 7.8 billion pound proposal to buy BSkyB, saying "the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition."

 

Antitrust Suit in Michigan Tests Health Law

 

By REED ABELSON

 

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan dominates the state, but a Justice Department lawsuit says the company is stifling competition.

 

Toyota to Pay $32.4 Million in Fines Related to Two Recalls

 

By NICK BUNKLEY

 

The fines, related to Toyota’s delays in announcing vehicle recalls in the United States, are the maximum allowed by law.

 

• Toyota Aims to Expand 2011 Global Sales 3 Percent
  

 

With Eye on Risks, Bank of Japan Keeps Rates Low

 

By REUTERS 8:12 AM ET

 

The governor of the Bank of Japan said that he would carefully examine how increases in Japanese bond yields could affect the economy.

[interestrateripoff]

Here Comes The Judge! (NJ)

Well well well....

Six of the biggest banks in the nation have been told by New Jersey's Supreme Court Chief Justice that unless they can prove otherwise, they will have to stop tens of thousands of foreclosures in the Garden State.

But but but.... the banks have sputtered - this is just a "small paperwork problem."

Uh huh.

The NJ Supreme Court is not convinced.

Neither am I, incidentally.

If this is just a "minor paperwork snafu" then can someone explain why we continue to be unable to find properly-endorsed notes that allegedly are in these MBS "trusts"?

This is in fact the key issue behind all of this mess.

As I've reported repeatedly there is lots of evidence that essentially none of the "private-label" securities were actually properly conveyed. ASF has repeated asserted (without evidence) that the procedures followed "were good enough", but when one looks at the facts you can't seem to find actual, black-letter compliance with the PSAs - that is, the documents that control whether or not the trusts were properly constituted.

It is my contention that all of this mess with "robosigning" and such tie back to the origination of these loans. We now know that institutions like Citibank were making loans they knew were no good - because former executives have testified to this fact under oath. We also know that The Fed and OCC did nothing about this, yet they had to know as well, since this information was sent up to the board of directors (again, testified to under oath, and this time with documentary evidence.)

Absolutely nobody has done anything to hold these lenders to account for having eighty percent of their paper being trash during these years.

Yet this is the key to the entire mess.

Judges, on the other hand, are waking up. They're waking up to the fact that perjury appears to have become a business model when it comes to foreclosures. They likely don't care why, but they should (and increasingly are) caring about the destruction of trust and integrity in the US Court System, apparent suborning of perjury, and the abject mockery of due process that these "proceedings" make - almost as if the courts no longer exist as a means of settling disputes but rather a means of covering up the sins of commission that were rampant from 2005 through 2008.

Eventually this must come back to the source - the reason for the perjury. If required to show up with all paperwork in order back to the inception of the loan we will quickly find out whether there's anything to the belief that these loans were never conveyed.

Today, MERS and other means are used to prevent anyone from determining whether process was properly followed and the notes were transferred and are properly owned. Again, if there is no "there" there why the intended obfuscation?

Kudos to NJ and may all other states follow.

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/business/22lockout.html?ref=business

 

TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks.

 

When she finally got into the house, it was empty. All of her possessions were gone: furniture, her son’s ski medals, winter clothes and family photos. Also missing was a wooden box, its top inscribed with the words “Together Forever,” that contained the ashes of her late husband, Robert.

 

The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.

 

In an era when millions of homes have received foreclosure notices nationwide, lawsuits detailing bank break-ins like the one at Ms. Ash’s house keep surfacing. And in the wake of the scandal involving shoddy, sometimes illegal paperwork that has buffeted the nation’s biggest banks in recent months, critics say these situations reinforce their claims that the foreclosure process is fundamentally flawed.

 

“Every day, smaller wrongs happen to people trying to save their homes: being charged the wrong amount of money, being wrongly denied a loan modification, being asked to hand over documents four or five times,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

 

Identifying the number of homeowners who were locked out illegally is difficult. But banks and their representatives insist that situations like Ms. Ash’s represent just a tiny percentage of foreclosures.

 

Many of the incidents that have become public appear to have been caused by confusion over whether a house is abandoned, in which case a bank may have the right to break in and make sure the property is secure.

 

Some of the cases appear to be mistakes involving homeowners who were up to date on their mortgage — or had paid off their home — but who still became targets of a bank.

 

:lol: Excellent so if a bank thinks a property might not be secure it has to break in to it to ensure that it is secure. Genius, surely if they "have to break in" the property clearly is secure?

 

So the bankers have moved on now to burglary to increase profits and get the bonus.

 

Still at least we can all be assured no banker will ever be jailed for this. Any normal person breaks into a house and they'll go to jail, if your a banker well you'll just get to pay a fine and carry on.

[interestrateripoff]

Breaking news

 

• Euro slides vs Swiss franc for a 6th day, lower eyed - Reuters
  
• Intesa cleared to revamp insurance operations - Reuters
  
• US STOCKS-Bank shares help keep alive year-end rally - Reuters
  
• Two Mexico telecoms may be fined for poor service - Reuters
  
• US home sales bounce back, 3rd-quarter GDP raised - Reuters
  
• Apple drops WikiLeaks app, Google keeps it - Reuters
  
• Apple drops WikiLeaks app, Google keeps it - Reuters
  
• Argentina makes new bid to swap defaulted bonds - Reuters
  
• producing nations agree export credit deal - Reuters
  

 

 

 

• Pound falls against dollar after GDP growth is cut
   
  Office for National Statistics trims 0.1 percentage points off GDP, raising pessimism about UK recovery
   
  
  • UK's official economic growth estimates revised down
    
  • GDP: What the economists say
    
  • Nils Pratley: UK may be on track but signals mixed
    
  • Budget deficit reached record £23bn in November
    

  [*] Bank minutes show rising inflation fear

   

  Monetary policy committee again split three ways amid concern over commodity prices and household inflation

  28 comments

  [*] Former Hewlett-Packard boss fights to keep Jodie Fisher letter private

   

  Mark Hurd, the former Hewlett-Packard boss, is fighting to keep a letter accusing him of sexual harassment private

  [*] Ailing housing market will see prices fall by 2% next year, says RICS

   

  The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the number of transactions would remain flat at about 900,000 in 2011

   

  • Poll: What will happen to house prices in 2011?
    

  [*] The return of the Sun King: has Lord Browne got his eye on BP?

   

  After a contentious year that saw his student fees report lead to protests, the former oil company chief is now said to be eyeing assets that it is selling off

  [*] Costain makes £118m offer for Mouchel

   

  Merger with debt-laden firm would make Costain one of UK's biggest construction and infrastructure groups

 

 

• A lighter look at the business world
   
  The business Christmas special
   
  Flattering pants, supersized suits and cheesey handouts ...
  
  
• Christmas cards by Kipper Williams
   
  Print or tweet one of seven Christmas cards illustrated by Guardian cartoonist Kipper Williams
  
• Our bumper five-part Christmas quiz
   
  Graeme Wearden tests your knowledge of the business year – the people, the resignations and the crises
  
• A long to-do list at Heathrow
   
  Last updated 11 minutes ago
  Colin Matthews, chief executive of BAA, said that he won't be accepting his bonus this year, writes Nils Pratley
  1 comment
  
• Nils Pratley: Cable likely to cost Murdoch dear
   
  Last updated two minutes ago
  Vince couldn't stop the BSkyB deal, but he's made News Corp's target somewhat costlier
  Post your comment
  
• More business news
  
• Buxted chicken entreprenuer to enter battle for Northern Foods
  2 comments
  
• Supermarkets get planning permission for store a day
  27 comments
  
• Lisa O'Carroll: NAMA must get houses back from builders' wives
  

[interestrateripoff]

Judge criticises 'hastily drafted' BAE plea deal

 

Sarah Arnott: SFO corruption investigation concludes with £500,000 fine.

 

 

• Split over interest rate decision
  
• Public borrowing soars to £23.3bn record high
  
• Fears for retail snowball after profit warning from Alexon
  
• Toyota agrees to pay $32.4m fines in US over recalls
  
• The Business On... David Brennan, CEO, AstraZeneca
  
• Business Diary: Gifts that could be real handcuffs
  
• Portugal's debt rating set to be cut
  

 

David Prosser: Now it's time to stamp out corruption and bribery for good

 

 

Outlook No doubt groups such as the Campaign Against Arms Trade and The Corner House will be disappointed byyesterday's sentencing of BAE for offences connected to its sale of a radar system to Tanzania more than 10 years ago. They had called on Mr Justice Bean to reject the plea bargain BAE had agreed with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on the affair, which specifically clears the defence company of allegations of corruption. That he did not do so, instead fining BAE £500,000 for accounting failures, will have upset anti-corruption campaigners.

 

 

• David Prosser: Borrowing is still rising under the Coalition
  
• David Prosser: Alexon's warning is just the first of many
  
• David Prosser: French protectionism might make us smile, but it is still dangerous
  
• James Moore: How the banks took revenge on the politician once known as St Vince
  
• James Moore: Bankers aren't the only ones on big pay packets
  

 

Gold bugs see no end to rise in price

 

Fears over inflation and another slump drove up the metal in 2010 but hedge funds are very exposed

 

 

• Broadcasters lick lips as product placement lands
  
• The Business On: Colin Matthews, Chief executive, BAA
  
• 'Ah, the language of handbags says it all'
  
• Merger Monday sees rainmakers return to form
  
• Coffee takes over the high street
  

[interestrateripoff]

FTSE lifted by strong banks as debt worries ease

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The leading share index pushed higher on Wednesday, supported by gains from banks as reports China is ready to buy Portuguese bonds eased European debt concerns.

Continue Reading

 

 

 

Economic growth revised down, 2011 outlook bleak

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Economic growth figures so far this year have been revised slightly lower and 2011 may see a sharper slowdown due to government spending cuts, with the Bank of England also increasingly worried about inflation.

UK, 8:13pm GMT

 

Investors enter 2011 in bullish mood - Reuters poll

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Investors are entering 2011 in a relatively bullish mood, raising equity holdings to a 10-month high, increasing exposure to high-yield credit and cutting back on government debt, Reuters polls showed on Wednesday.

2:05pm GMT

 

U.S. home sales bounce back, 3rd-quarter GDP raised

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in November, offering the latest sign the economy was ending the year on a more solid footing after a sluggish third-quarter performance.

7:10pm GMT

 

Providence calls off sale of Phones4U

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners has scrapped plans to sell Phones4U and said it would realise most value by holding on to the mobile phone retailer.

4:52pm GMT

 

Elan, Biogen ask for virus issue on Tysabri label

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Elan and Biogen Idec have asked regulators for a green light to change the label on multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri to highlight that a virus may help predict the risk of serious brain infection.

7:36pm GMT

 

Poles, Czechs keep rates on hold, inflation subdued

 

WARSAW/PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Polish and Czech central banks both left interest rates on hold on Wednesday as expected, citing low inflationary and wage pressures, but Warsaw signalled that monetary tightening may not be far off.

5:51pm GMT

 

Europe stocks extend December rally in thin volume

 

PARIS (Reuters) - European stocks inched higher on Wednesday in holiday-thinned trade, extending a sharp December rally that has brought a key index back to levels not seen since the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers two years ago.

6:11pm GMT

 

France wants closer euro zone econ policy - German media

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - France wants all 16 euro zone governments and any other interested European Union members to coordinate their economic policy more closely in the future, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde told a German newspaper. "The crisis showed us that it is not sufficient to limit public debt as foreseen in the Maastricht Treaty. Ireland stuck to these criteria and finds itself nevertheless in difficulty," Lagarde said in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

7:11pm GMT

 

Special report - Overselling the American dream overseas

 

SHANGHAI/CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a conference room in an office building in downtown Shanghai, Jason Lee is literally selling the American dream.