• Stock markets and euro rise in relief• Borrowing lower than expected• Fears remain over 1 July repayment of €442bn
The euro climbed and stocks rose after Europe’s banks appeared to be in a better state of financial health than the markets had feared.
Banks asked to borrow €132bn from the European Central Bank today, ahead of [...]
Another 1,850 posts to be axed as bailed-out bank takes the knife to former Halifax operations
The toll of job losses at Lloyds Banking Group has reached 17,700 today after the bailed-out bank axed another 1,850 jobs, largely from the Halifax business it controversially rescued at the height of the banking crisis.
And a further 1,000 roles [...]
Office for National Statistics says quality check revealed ‘potential errors’ in detailed figures in the national accounts data set
The accuracy of government data has been called into question once again following the postponement of important GDP and other economic figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) after it found “potential errors”.
Economists should now be [...]
Hurricane Alex halts efforts to capture oil from Gulf of Mexico as experts predict severe storm season ahead
The first named storm of the Atlantic season has hit BP’s oil spill clean-up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Alex, upgraded from tropical storm status late last night and expected to hit the coasts of Mexico and [...]
• Value of top 100 UK firms fell by £100bn in six days • US consumer confidence lowest for seven months
Fears that government austerity packages will hinder global growth have combined with fresh anxiety about the health of European banks to hammer investor confidence.
Shares on both sides of the Atlantic dropped heavily amid warnings that [...]
Exclusive: Leaked government data concerning next five years shows hidden costs of austerity drive
George Osborne’s austerity budget will result in the loss of up to 1.3m jobs across the economy over the next five years according to a private Treasury assessment of the planned spending cuts, the Guardian has learned.
Unpublished estimates of the impact of [...]
Political reality has forced compromise into the final version of the financial regulation reform bill in the US
It was billed by Barack Obama as the toughest crackdown on Wall Street since the great depression. But top US banks could be given until 2022 to comply with the so-called Volcker rule, which is supposed to restrict [...]
Holidaymakers caught up in strife as striking workers bring Greece to a standstill
Popular anger over economic austerity measures in Greece exploded on to the streets as striking workers brought the debt-stricken country to a halt and militant seamen stopped holidaymakers from boarding island ferries.
The stand-off, which saw thousands of bewildered tourists being stranded at [...]
Auditors ‘inadequately challenged’ firms’ assumptions in deciding whether to take provisions for loans not being repaid
The role of accountants in the banking crisis was thrust into the open yesterday when the Financial Services Authority said that the profession had not been sceptical enough about the financial firms it audited in the run up to the [...]
A slump in mining shares has pushed leading shares below the 5000 level once more, as metal prices fall sharply again.
Copper is down around 3% following a fall in the Chinese stock market. Traders said the 4% decline in the Shanghai Composite was due to investors pulling money out to prepare for the forthcoming flotation [...]
