Every cloud still appears to have a silver lining and the silver this time round will be coming from both the United States and Europe. UK fund managers are anticipating a wave of takeover activity as companies with some surplus cash sitting around might be looking to take advantage of the weak pound to snaps UN some bargains in acquiring smaller British firms.

Also expecting a windfall in the near future is the HM Revenue & Custom (HMRC). As a result of the unexpected success of their business payment support,

The sum of corporate tax rescheduled service has reached five billion pounds, with more than 160,000 UK businesses having negotiated a "time-to-pay" agreement, since the launch of the in late November 2008. Since that time, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme has secured £862 million of loans for more than right thousand UK businesses.

Britain’s one-time tax on bank bonuses could bring in more than £2.5 billion ($3.7 billion) to the government’s coffers this financial year, which works out at almost three times the £550 million estimated by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling. Darling announced the fifty percent levy for bank bonuses over £25,000 pounds in December last year.

Darling is expected to unveil the Governments plans to use the extra funds for “small targeted measures” during his budget speech later this month.

The people of Iceland are preparing to organise a referendum, on which they will decide to repay the UK and the Netherlands governments, the money owed to them after the collapse of Icesave bank.

The UK and the Netherlands want reimbursement for the £3.4 billion (€3.8 billion) paid out in compensation to customers in 2008.

Talks between the three countries broke down on Friday without agreement.

The Icelandic government had hoped to avoid the vote by agreeing a new repayment plan before the weekend, with the country’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir calling for further talks to take place before the referendum card is called.

The serious concerns that residents of the North East are having regarding the possibility that the steel processing plant run by Corus on Teesside will be closed are to be aired at a meeting in London this week. The meeting will be between the Government department who are handling the Corus file on behalf of the government, and a group of local politicians and potential investors. The group is thought to be interested in acquiring the Teesside Cast Products plant, which is due to close. The plant began lying off the first of 1,600 staff before the weekend. .

Redcar MP Vera Baird said a sale of TCP was “the best outcome we could have” and urged patience while a deal was put together.

With prices up by an average of 3.2 percent, February showed the strongest monthly growth in house prices since August 2007 in central London. Strongest risers were properties in the £5 million pound bracket, which exceeded even the prices of March 2008 when the market was as its precession peak. Elsewhere in the UK figures show a drop in the average house prices for the first time in months, Reasons given were the bad weather experienced in January, as well as an increase in number of properties hitting the market. The weakening pound may also account for the fact that almost half of the properties worth £2 million pounds or more have been snapped up by buyers from overseas during the last year,

Equity strategists believe a weakening pound will cause shares in London-listed companies to rise over the coming weeks. The feeling is that asset managers are rebalancing their UK portfolios and issuing new stock recommendations following sterling’s continued poor performance in the currency market. Strategists are apparently encouraging investors to take long positions in UK firms with ties to foreign markets, will steering clear of UK businesses who rely extensively on the domestic economy.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has granted a licence to Metro Bank, which will mean a whole new face on the UK high street, and within the coming months. Metro’s plans are to create a network of over 200 Greater London branches, offering a "superior service", with branches open seven days a week.

The continuing uncertainty around the pound has caused a lot of ups and downs over the last week. At close of trading on Friday the pound closed on $1.5056, as well as 1.1044 against the Euro.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index jumped 72 points, to close for the weekend on 5,597.76.

The US Labor Department has today revealed that unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7% in February, lower than the 10% rate that was expected. According to figures issued by the Labor Department, there were just 36,000 job cuts last month, considerably less than the 50,000 analysts had predicted. Since the beginning of the financial downturn in December 2007, employment has fallen by 8.4 million, making for almost 15 million unemployed people in the US.

These figures conform to the Federal Reserve’s forecast unemployment rate. The rate is expected to remain at between 9.5% and 9.7% for all of 2010, and could ease to as low as 8.2% in 2011.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continues to thrive, closing for the weekend up 122.06 points to close on 10,566.2. The NASDAQ Composite was still climbing also, rising 34 points to close on 2,326.35

According to official figures from the US Commerce Department the US economy grew at a faster rate than previous estimates in the fourth quarter.

The economy grew by an annual 5.9% between the October and December period, an improvement on the 5.7% previously estimated.

For the whole of 2009, the GDP declined at of 2.4%, making for the largest full-year contraction since the 10.9% fall immediately after the end of World War Two.

A spokesman for the Swedish venture capitalists Investor, has announced their approval to buy half of defence group BAE System’s stake in Swedish defence firm Saab. The statement read that Investor’s acquisition of half of BAE’s 20.5 percent stake "clarified the ownership structure in Saab" in a climate where there had been "less alignment of interests and the emergence of some overlapping businesses" between the two aerospace firms.

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Tags: Alistair Darling, BAE Systems, Banking, Currency, Dow Jones, Economy, Enterprise Finance Guarantee, Financial News, Financial Services Authority, FSA, FTSE, HM Revenue & Custom, HMRC, Icesave, Johanna Sigurdardottir, Money, Money Management, NASDAQ, Recession, Retail, Saab, Stocks and shares, Teesside Cast Products, UK Banks, UK business, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, US labor Department, Wall Street

It came as no big surprise to anybody when the Bank of England (BOE) announced that they will be holding interest rates at their record low of 0.5%, and for the twelfth consecutive month.

The BOE’s decision gained a consensus of approval by UK economists, who pronounced, individually and collectively that rises in the cost of borrowing could set the UK’s fragile economic recovery back into the red.

The announcement that the bank will be standing firm on the amount of money that will be pumped into quantitative easing program (QE) programme was also met with a similar apathy.

BOE governor Mervyn King has long since made clear his opinion on increasing interest rates raising QE quotas, and all the rest of the UK’s financial programs by simply stating that that it was “far too soon” to make any changes to the status quo.

Sterling has now dropped in value for six consecutive trading days, with the bulk of opinion on the Pound’s increasingly weak position being because of speculation that the forthcoming general election is liable to see a hung parliament which translates to a government that will be too weak to mend the UK’s financial problems. Since the beginning of 2010, the pound has dropped by seven percent against the dollar, reaching a ten month low of $1.4783 on March the 2nd. The pound closed on Thursday on $1.5051 while the Euro was stabilising at 1.1078.

Financial Service Institute (FSA) chairman Lord Turner has voiced his opinion that that the size of banks was also not the main reason behind the economic turmoil, and even some of the UK’s smaller financial institutions could have been pronounced equally guilty of “over-exuberant lending” and taking “risky short-term wholesale deposits, Turner explained “Everyone was seduced by the long boom and were often led astray in the past by complicated mathematical rules. The Bank’s regulators were the ones who failed to notice the inherent weakness in that position.”

The FSA chairman also went on to explain that when the time comes to add up the cost of bailing out the financial services industry at the height of the global financial crisis may in the end turn out to be a lot less than first predicted.

“It is quite possible that the total overt costs of the UK’s big bank rescues may not exceed five-ten per cent of GDP," Turner predicted in a recent interview "and perhaps considerably less as indeed was the case in the Swedish banking crisis of the 1990s.” He summed up.

Recent research is pointing to a situation that increasingly adds weight to the theory that the UK’s property rental sector is heading towards a similar model of the mainland European countries of increasingly longer tenancy agreements.

According to one of the UKs largest letting agencies, during the last year and a half, a fairly dramatic increase in demand for rented accommodation has been observed, with potential tenants being especially interested in properties with long term tenure periods.

Reasons given for this new phenomena in property rental appears to be largely causes by increasing difficulties of young families to raise the new and higher deposit levels required to be granted a mortgage, while around a third confessed that they were unsure that the conditions were ripe to put their toe in the still turbulent waters of the UK property market. With almost 40 percent of potential first-time home buyers opting to remain tenants in the meantime, because of the current tough mortgage-lending criteria and 14% of those questioned said they preferred life as a tenant to that of a homeowner.

Home ownership in the UK has fallen by three percent since 2003 with the trend likely to continue. Several of the UK’s leading property management companies now believe that the UK Government now needs to ensure that renting a home offers the stability levels that are currently only afforded to home owners.

British Airways, once again under strike threat have dug in by saying that more than one thousand of the staff have volunteered to work as cabin crew if indeed the threatened strike goes ahead.

As a further back up, BA announced that they also intended to hire no less than 23 fully crewed planes from a leading European owned charter company. The company’s role will be to help run flights from Heathrow Airport should the strike threats eventually materialise.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently announced that new car sales in the UK increased by 26.4% in February compared with the same month in 2009, with the main push in demand coming because of the Government’s scrappage scheme.

Launched in May of last year in an effort to boost the ailing car industry, the £400 million initiative, which allowed owners of cars at least 10 years old would be offered a £2,000 discount off the price of a new vehicle, with half of the grant being provided by the UK Government and the other £1,000 coming from the lucky carmaker. Figures from the SMMT show that almost 20 percent of new car sales in February came a result of the scheme, which is due to be wound up by the end of March.

On the stock market, Barclays Plc’s Asian partner, the China Development Bank announced that they will be reviewing their “ties” with the bank, U.K.’s second-biggest. The announcement caused shares in Barclays to rise one percent, to 333.1 pence.

The U.K.’s third-largest supermarket owner J Sainsbury Plc has announced plans to expand their activities into non-food products. They will be marketing electronics, entertainment and sports equipment among others through their Web site. Despite the excitement, Sainsbury shares 0.2 percent, to close on 335.4 pence.

Michael Page International Plc, the U.K.’s second- largest recruitment company announced a drop in full-year pretax profit of no less than 85 percent to £21.1 million pounds. Despite the reversal, their shares climbed 6 1.7 percent, to close on 395 pence.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index fell 0.1 percent, to close on Thursday at 5,527.16.

On Wall Street, for the Dow Jones Industrial Average the only way was up, this time rising 47.38 points to close on 10,444.14. The NASDAQ Composite also held its own, rising 11 points to close on 2,292.31.

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Tags: Bank of England, Barclays, BOE, British airways, Dow Jones, Financial Service Institute, FTSE, general election, Heathrow Airport, Interest Rates, Lord Turner, Mervyn King, Michael Page International Plc, NASDAQ, quantitative easing, Sainsbury, SMMT, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, UK government, Wall Street

According to a recent statement from the Office for National Statistics, the state of public finances in the UK, are even worse than that of Greece. The latest figures on government borrowing show that in January there was a net shortfall of £4.3 billion, which is much higher than even the most pessimistic of forecasts. January is traditionally the month where a healthy balance of payments is the norm. If the trend continues, the UK will be looking at a deficit of £180 billion for 2010, equivalent to 12.8 per cent of GDP, which will even beat Greece into second place in the "whose going skint fastest" race.

The reasons given for the UK’s poor performance included considerably reduced earnings in the financial sector as well as general weaknesses in the economy. These factors combined to push cash receipts down by 9 per cent overall compared with last year tax, while public spending was up by 15 per cent up in January, driven higher by the rise in unemployment benefits.

The only positive piece of news coming out of the report was that the total national debt carried by Britain remains lower than Greece as well as the fellow financially challenged European countries, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain.

HSBC have announced a 24 per cent fall in profits for 2009. Their profits fell to £4.65 billion ($7.1 billion) with the main factor being increased loan impairment charges, which largely cancelled out the bank’s strong investment banking performance. Undeterred, HSBC have announced that they would be paying out a total of £4.6 billion in pay and bonuses to staff at their profit earning investment banking division. HSBC shares fell almost 6 per cent to 679 pence on the news.

After months of speculation, retailer to the upper echelons Liberty, have finally confirmed their plans for the sale and leaseback of their landmark mock-Tudor flagship store situated on Great Marlborough Street in London’s West End. The company, which was founded in 1876, and are partially owned by the MWB Group, announced that they had issued instructions to put the building up for sale, and it is expected to fetch around £40 million. A few of the London based property owners are believed to be interested in acquiring the property for lease back to Liberty, but are likely to face strong competition from overseas. A spokesman for Liberty announced that that turnover for the store in 2009 had jumped by 16 per cent.

Despite winning the Carling Cup Final at the weekend, all is not well at Manchester United, but not on the playing field, instead in the boardroom.

The problem is that United, owned by the Glazer family, are running a very high level of debt, some £716.5 million, a fact that has caused much discomfort and loads of speculation among their huge band of supporters. So much so that a group of city financiers, under the title the "Red Knights" have met to discuss the feasibility of setting up what will be a possible hostile takeover of the club. An immediate response from the Glazers was that Manchester United is not for sale."

However, it may not be that easy, as United’s owners are facing a two-pronged attack over their control of the club with the Manchester United Supporters’ Trust (Must) running a campaign to bring about a change of ownership, which might even involve fans boycotting the clubs matches, and with a 76,000 seater stadium to fill, that may well be too bitter a pill for the Glazers to absorb.

The fact that the British general election appears to be getting closer and is now expected in May is having a very negative effect on Sterling. The currency took another pounding on foreign exchange markets, with the possibility that the election may bring of a hung parliament looking an increasing possibility. The uncertainty has caused the pound to drop nearly four cents, reaching a low of $1.4984 at one point before rallying to close $1.5056. The pound also closed at 1.1044 against the Euro.

On the FTSE 100 supermarket chain Tesco were among the FTSE 100’s top performers as America’s second-richest man Warren Buffett raised his stake in the company. Share values rose by 3.2 per cent to 433 pence, after Mr Buffett announced to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that their holding had increased to 3 per cent. Berkshire Hathaway has been gradually raising their stockholding in Tesco since 2006 when the retailer announced their plans to enter the US market. Since making their first stock purchase, the American conglomerate is believed to have become Tesco’s sixth largest shareholder.

As the markets closed for the day, the FTSE 100 was up 134 points to 5,484.06.

According to Lawrence Summers, head of the White House National Economic Council, the impact of Barack Obama’s $800 billion fiscal stimulus is yet to be fully felt, and its impact will increasingly be sensed over the coming months. Summers has praised the fiscal stimulus as being an enormous achievement and the many projects that the stimulus funded throughout the country are running exactly as planned.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to creep upwards. It rose 80 points to close on 10,405.98 while the NASDAQ Composite jumped by 42 points to close on 2,280.79.

According to date from the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (BEPA), global trade in goods has continued its rapid recovery from its huge fall in 2009, when the recession was at its peak. Data from BEPA also indicate that the world trading system suffered very little permanent damage to global trade has been done to by the financial crisis. The bureau’s composite index reported that the volume of goods trade worldwide rose at 4.8 per cent in December, making for the most rapid monthly increase in December for any year in its 19-year history, with three monthly index, traditionally less volatile, also rising by a record rate in the fourth quarter of last year, finishing six percent higher than third quarter.

On the other side of the World, things are looking better. So much better that for the fourth time since October, Australia’s central bank has seen fit to raise their interest rates, as it seeks to cool its growing economy.

The increase, from 3.75%, to 4% was widely expected by economists.

Australia was not only the only major economy to avoid recession, but also the first to raise interest rates from half century lows as the economic crisis eased. Australia’s ability to avoid the worst of the global turndown was partially attributed to increased demand for its commodities from China.

However Australia’s boom times may be slowing down with the news that China’s manufacturing activity shrunk a little in February. However economists rushed to point out that while China’s recovery faced some flat periods, it was expected that industrial activity would continue to grow in the coming months.

After the massive earthquake that struck Chile, copper prices jumped more than five per cent on early trading on Monday. Chile is the world’s largest producer of the red metal, and the earthquake has severely disrupted mining operations in the country, consequently triggering a spree of panic buying in the major commodity centres.

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Tags: Bank, Banking, Barack Obama, British Economy, British Pound, Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, Carling Cup Final, Credit Crunch, Dow Jones, Economics, Economy, Financial News, FTSE, Glazer family, HSBC, Lawrence Summers, Manchester United, Money, Money Management, Money Markets, MWB Group, NASDAQ, Office for National Statistics, Stocks and shares, Tesco, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, Wall Street, Warren Buffett, White House National Economic Council

Official figures released this week have confirmed that the current recession is the most severe Britain has suffered since World War Two. More businesses have gone bust in this than in any previous recession, with more than fifty companies closing their doors every day.  Estimates are that around 27,000 have closed since the economic crisis began, compared with 24,000 during the early 1990s recession and 9,500 in the downturn of the early 1980s.

However the news from the business was offset by the news that sharp rises in public savings may leave the economy better set for recovery. Higher incomes have helped to push up the savings ratio to 8.6 per cent, making it the first time for more than a decade that savings have been higher than their long-run average, further suggesting that the UK economy may be closer to finding a proper balance.

With pressure mounting on state-owned banks to dispose of their non essential assets, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are said to be considering selling of parts of its estimated £15 million art collection, but only when the art market improves. The bank’s collection comprises works by artists LS Lowry, Anne Redpath, Jack Vettriano, Patrick Caulfield and Peter Howson. To try to drum ups some customers, the RBS is said to be considering loaning some of their paintings to public galleries next year.

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has finally admitted defeat over their two-year battle against high overdraft fees. Despite the fact, the OFT still intend to invite bank executives into meetings starting early next year to discuss plans to make fees clearer and apply pressure to launch new current accounts with low or no penalty charges. , Although it is unlikely they will phase them out altogether, banks reportedly are working on plans to lower overdraft and especially the controversial penalty fees. Among ideas being raised is to block clients from spending money within a close percentage of their agreed overdraft limit.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has reportedly contacted the Tata Group requesting that they review their decision to temporarily suspend operation at their Corus subsidiary’s Teesside Cast Products site at Redcar, which will result in the loss of 1,700 jobs. Tata Steel will need to stay ‘very firmly in touch with’ the government to honour a shared responsibility to look after the workforce and local community, according to Lord Mandelson. The recession has led to a sharp fall in production at Corus and the Tata Group has constantly stated that they cannot continue to operate the plant with insufficient orders or the support of a long-term strategic partner.

Sterling fell below the $1.60 level against the dollar for the first time in more than two months on Tuesday after a disappointing revision of UK third-quarter growth, adding to concerns over the UK economy which continues to grapple with ballooning deficits and rising unemployment

• Dollar 1.5955

• Euro 1.1106

The FTSE 100 closed 0.6 per cent higher at 5,402.41, the highest peak since September 2008. Trading wound up early for the holiday period and is due to resume on Tuesday December 29.  . 

According to figures issues  by the U.S. Commerce Department figures consumer spending increased in November by 0.5 percent, which was lower than the median estimate of economists and followed a 0.6 percent gain in October,. Incomes climbed 0.4 percent, the biggest increase since May

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 86 points to close on 10,521.1 while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 48 points to 2,285.69, as positive figures and festive spirits combined.

US senators have passed the final Senate version of a historic healthcare reform bill. The bill will provide cover to 31 million Americans who till now were uninsured and is liable to lead to the biggest change in US healthcare in decades.

President Barack Obama welcomed it as offering “real and meaningful” reform, saying it was the most important piece of social legislation since the 1930s.  However, it must still be reconciled with more expansive legislation passed by the House of Representatives. The process of reconciling the two bills is expected to begin in January and will require considerable and tough negotiations to see the bill passed.

Crude oil prices rose more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday following the latest US weekly inventories data, averaging around $76.00 a barrel. US crude stock levels dropped 4.9 million barrels last week, far more than the consensus forecast for a decline of 900,000 barrels.

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Tags: Alastair Darling, Bank of England, Financial News, Peter Mandelson, Recession, Royal Bank of Scotland, UK Economy, UK Recession

Despite growing optimism which is begging to verge on euphoria, the anticipated recovery in Britain’s economy will be much slower and more painful than most people expect. Not only that, the face of the UK business world will have changed for ever, and many of the traditional ways of doing business will be consigned to the scrap heap. With many of the country’s leading financial analysts predicting that the UK economy succeeded in returning to positive growth during the third quarter, the chances are that growth in the economy will be much slower than those of the United States and even most member countries in the Eurozone.

Currently, the general consensus among the country’s leading economic pundits is that the domestic economy would struggle to achieve even 1 percent growth in 2010. One of the most problematic factors in the drive to push the UK economy forward is the likelihood of fairly stringent government spending cuts in 2010, alongside the restoration of sales tax to 17.5 percent after it was reduced to 15 percent for most of 2009. Other factors, that whilst necessary to help bolster the government’s strained coffers, include the end of a break on housing purchase duties and increases in income tax level, will combine to make recovery more difficult.

The long overdue and welcome trend by consumers in reducing their personal debt burdens have led to a considerable downturn in retail activities with the inevitable knock on effect in the production and distribution industries will also play a considerable part, whilst a small percentage of the extra funds pumped into the economy through the Bank of England’s £175 billion quantitative easing program appears to have had little effect on boosting bank lending and jump starting the economy.

To sum up, most economists concur that 2010 will be a better year for the UK economy, but not by much.

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Tags: Bank of England, Banking, British Economy, British Pound, Credit Crunch, Economics, Economy, Financial News, Money, Recession, Retail, UK Banks, UK business, UK Economy, UK Recession

Rumour has it that meetings have been taking places in countries with emerging economies such as India, China, and Brazil along with some of the current key players in the global economy, particularly certain Gulf States as well as Japan and Russia. These clandestine meetings are being held in the offices of finance ministers and central bank governors and they are discussing what was once considered unthinkable. The replacement of the US dollar as the World’s staple currency, especially when it comes to fixing the price of major commodities, crude oil and gold in particular.

Speculation about the switch is believed to be the force behind the sudden rise in the price of gold.

Apparently, key forces within the American financial institutions are aware of the discussions that are taking place, although they are being kept in the dark regarding specific details. According to unconfirmed reports, the US is particularly upset with their allies in Japan and the Gulf states, and are not expected to accept the matter lying down. By and large, if the dollar loses its place as the number one global currency, a risk of deepening divisions between Russia, China and the US over influence and commodities could become more intense.

Financial analysts predict that the transitional currency, should the move away from dollars actually transpire may not be another currency, and more likely gold. One thing for sure is that if the dollar falls of its plateau, particularly hard hit will the countries such as Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar who are estimated to be holding more than $2. trillion in dollar reserves.

The decline of American economic power linked to the current global recession has been offset by China’s extraordinary rise as an emerging economic superstar. China today imports around sixty percent of its oil, much of it from the Middle East and Russia, and exports no fewer than 10 per cent of the imports of every country in the Middle East. These imports include a huge range of products from cars to weapon systems, food and clothing making it understandable why China would want to deal away from the now unstable and rapidly weakening dollar, especially when financial sources believe President Barack Obama will to too busy involved in saving the US economy to concentrate on the extraordinary implications of the transition from the dollar in 2018.

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Tags: Abu Dhabi, Banking, Barack Obama, Brazil, China, Credit Crunch, Crude oil, Currency, Economy, Financial News, Global Credit Crisis, global recession, Gold, Gulf States, India, Japan, Kuwait, Money, Money Markets, Qatar, Recession, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Stock Markets, UD Dollar

The dwindling supply of property and an improving market confidence have combined to boost the average UK house price, with the price climbing to £156,100 up 0.2% from August but remaining 5.6% below the level of September 2008. In August, the average house price bumped 0.1% from July and 6.7% from the year before. Questions still remain as to whether the recent surge in activity will continue, despite the talk of general improvement in property and equities.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the global economy has begun to expand again and financial conditions have improved significantly. However, in their most recent World Economic Outlook, the IMF has forecast that the pace of recovery is expected to be slow and unemployment is liable to remain at high levels for a long time. The IMF has cut their previously pessimistic forecast of the amount that banks are likely to lose in bad loans and investments. The revised total for the period between 2007 and 2010 is now $3.4 trillion, down from its previous estimate of $4 trillion. The reduction is attributed to the improved outlook for the global economy.

The squeeze on government finances will be so tight that outsourcing of catering services in the public sector is likely to rise sharply and that catering giant Compass are likely to benefit. A spokesman for the company forecast that mounting pressure on public bodies to cut spending has provided an opportunity for the industry to expand. Compass, the world’s largest industrial catering company have already enjoyed solid performances in its education, healthcare and defence divisions had helped to offset weakness in more discretionary sectors. In a recent trading update, the company announced that rising unemployment had hurt turnover at both their business and industry and sports and leisure divisions.

Despite a recent increase in sales, men’s formal wear retailer Moss Bros failed to prevent first-half losses, that increased by more than 35 percent. Moss Bros., who also own the Hugo Boss brand, were encouraged by increased sales over the last two months, after they had fallen by 2.6 per cent in the six months to the end of July. First-half revenue dipped from £61.1 million to £60.8 million while the company’s pre-tax loss widened from £2.2 million to £3 million.

It appears that with the completion of a debt-for-equity swap with its lender HSBC, high street camera retailing chain, Jessops, have succeeded in staving off insolvency The agreement, which will protect 2,000 jobs in Jessop’s 115 stores in the UK and Ireland, will see investors share a one-off payment of £100,000, equating to five per cent of their current estimated market value. Jessops arrived at the understanding with HSBC after some of its agreements coming in to the Christmas trading period were cast into doubt by the lack of certainty over its future.

The FTSE 100 closed down 25.82 points at 5,133.9, wrapping up the third quarter having risen by 21 percent, making for the largest quarterly gain in its history. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 fell back 62.21 points to 9,153.76 on the day’s trading. During the third quarter, the FTSE 250 has also risen, this time by more than 18 percent.

The pound was still steadily rising against the major currencies on yesterday’s trading. Sterling advanced against the dollar, rising to $1.6015 after an above-forecast jump in September UK consumer confidence.

• Pound/US dollar 1.6015
• Pound/Euro 1.10996
• Pound/Japanese Yen 143.953
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.666

The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to weaken on Wednesday’s trading, dropping 29.92 points to close on 9,712.28. The NASDAQ remained stable, dropping just 7.19 points to 2122.42.

As the effects of the recession continue to be felt, the unemployment rate across the Eurozone has again risen. The seasonally adjusted rate for August rose to 9.6%, compared with 9.5% in the previous month according to official figures recently released, with the number of jobseekers in the Eurozone reaching 15.2 million. Economists insist that unemployment rates are liable to increase, despite the fact that most of the economies in the region are moving out of the recession.

Crude oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel ahead of the latest US inventories data while gold regained the $1,000 level and base metals staged a broad advance as sentiment towards commodity markets found support from renewed dollar weakness.

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In a recent interview, Business Minister Lord Mandelson gave the first veiled indication of concern over the increasing number of Britain’s major businesses under foreign control. Mandelson pointed out that while the UK remained committed to open markets for trade and investment entailing that companies should remain open to foreign takeovers, whilst adding that the country should be "mindful" of the implications of foreign ownership

Mandelson’s comments appeared to signal a shift in the government’s open approach to takeovers by overseas firms and come amid a rising tide of protectionism around the world. In response to Mandelson’s comments, union leaders accused Lord Mandelson of "closing the stable door after the horse had bolted".

In his speech, Mandelson forecast that, foreign ownership could "disadvantage" the location of UK manufacturing plants over the next 20 years. His comments emphasised a growing concern as the government seeks to rebalance the economy and lessen the reliance on financial services.

Mandelson’s comments echoed those from City minister Paul Myners, who also has publicly expressed fears that too many British companies were falling into foreign hands because their shares are owned by international funds, and little concern was felt for their domestic heritage.

Britain has been a leading proponent of open markets and countless household names have been taken over by foreign companies. These include BAA, BOC, Marconi, Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and British Energy.

Mandelson’s comments are bound to reverberate around the Vauxhall plants, fearing for their future after the car maker was bought by Canadian car parts firm Magna as well as at Cadburys where the American giant Kraft has attempted a hostile takeover.

When asked to comment on his speech Mandelson hastened to explain that while globalisation has served the UK well in the past and will do so in the future, there are issues around corporate institutional ownership and responsibility ". A major corporate buy-out by private equity can reshape a community or an industry, and there will always be a legitimate demand for transparency and accountability when that happens." He summed up.

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Tags: Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester, BAA, BOC, British Economy, British Energy, Cadburys, Credit Crunch, Economics, Economy, Financial News, Financial Services, Kraft, Lord Mandelson, Magna, Marconi, Paul Myners, Recession, UK Banks, UK companies, UK Economy, UK government, UK manufacturing, UK Recession, Vauxhall

One of the good things that have come out of the global economic downturn is the unparalleled fall in greenhouse gas emissions. A recent study sponsored by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that the recession has in fact provided a “unique opportunity” to move the world away from high-carbon growth,

In this first major study of the impact of the recession on climate change, the IEA found that CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels had undergone “a significant decline” in 2009, more than in any year since the late nineteen sixties. The decrease well exceeds the drop in greenhouse gas emissions that occurred after the 1981 recession.

Whilst falling industrial output is largely responsible for the plunge in CO2, there are other factors that have played a role, including the shelving of many plans for new coal-fired power stations owing to falling demand and lack of financing.

Rights issue speculation led Severn Trent lower on Monday Severn, Britain’s second-largest water company, lost 1.8 per cent to 993 pence. Severn has been widely rumoured to be looking at a fund-raising after July’s tougher than expected draft pricing review from Ofwat, the industry regulator. Severn’s options look likely to include a dividend cut and a rights issue to raise around £400 million. No decision is expected before November; when Ofwat is due to give its final determination.

The British Government has announced that they will grant a £10 million loan to Indian car maker Tata Motors to finance the electric car manufacturing project in the UK.

The loan, which will be part of a scheme backing low carbon technology in the motor industry, will support a £25 million pound investment by Tata Motors in its West Midlands base.

In July, Tata Motors had threatened to scrap plans to build electric cars in the UK if it did not receive the £10 million pound loan.

Tata almost said ta-ta to officials from Mandelson’s Business Department after being told that they needed more time to find out if the venture will be considered for the loan, taking the total waiting time to six months.

In a £50 million deal, the UK Atomic Energy Authority agreed to sell their wholly-owned commercial subsidiary UKAEA Ltd. to the defence and energy support services firm Babcock International.

UKAEA oversees nuclear clean-up work at three sites in Britain as well as providing consultancy services worldwide, Lord Mandelson said; “The sale will allow the company, as part of Babcock International, to continue its development and take advantage of new opportunities in the nuclear industry.”

UKAEA, which has been playing an active role in nuclear energy since for close to fifty years, has an annual-turnover worth around £32 million and employs more than 200 people.

Marks and Spencer was among the few companies to shine on the Footsie yesterday, in anticipation of positive second-quarter figures to be released next week. The high street retail chain was up 1.6 per cent to 374 ½ pence.

Slipping into reverse was the van hire group Northgate, whose shares dropped 2.1 per cent to 27 pence after the company admitted that they had made an “internal administrative error”, which meant that that their debt burden was £32 million more than previously reported.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index made its first reverse for a few days, down 38.53 points to close at 5,134.36.

Meanwhile the FTSE 250 continued to reverse last week’s gains, down yesterday by a further 86.28 points to close on 9,220.65

The pound continued to lose value against the main currencies on Monday’s trading with the notable exception of the Japanese Yen, where markets were closed for a public holiday.

• Pound/US dollar 1.6245
• Pound/Euro 1.1038
• Pound/Japanese Yen 149.188
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6721

The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a minor spin backwards after the weekend, down 41.34 points to 9,778.86. The NASDAQ continued to consolidate, up 5.18 points to 2138.04.

Computer giant Dell is buying IT services provider and fellow Texan firm Perot Systems for £2.4 billion ($3.9 billion)

Dell announced that the takeover, which it hopes to conclude between November and January, will help to provide a wider range of services to its customers.

The all-cash deal will see Perot shareholders receive $30 per share, making a 68% premium on the company’s closing share price on Friday.

Perot is owned by billionaire Ross Perot who twice ran as an independent candidate for the US presidency.

Oil prices have fallen by almost $3 on fears that energy demand may not be as strong as once thought.

The price of US crude was down to less than $70 a barrel. The price reduction confirms the findings of a report issued by the Centre for Global Energy Studies forecasting that there was unlikely to be a sustained rise in prices until the global financial recovery was well established.

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Tags: atmosphere, Babcock International, British Economy, British government, British Pound, climate change, CO2 emissions, coal-fired power stations, Credit Crunch, Currency, Dell, Dow Jones, Economy, emissions, Financial News, FTSE, Global Energy Studies, greenhouse gas, high-carbon, IEA, International Energy Agency, Lord Mandelson, Marks and Spencer, Money, Money Markets, Northgate, nuclear energy, Ofwat, Perot Systems, Recession, Severn Trent, Tata Motors, UK Atomic Energy Authority, UK Economy, UK government, UKAEA Ltd

Royal Bank of Scotland is considering approaching the market for extra money to avoid handing more control to the government. The bank, now 70% owned by taxpayers, is preparing to join the government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) to stop some toxic investments going bad. But it is also considering asking shareholders to invest further to prevent the government’s stake rising to a possible 84.5% if it insured all its bad assets with the APS.

According to official figures released on Friday, the UK government posted a record budget deficit for an August as the recession continues to bite into government tax receipts, The Office for National Statistics said the public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR) stood at £10.379 billion in August. That was lower than the 12 billion pounds expected by analysts but still twice the level of the same month a year ago and a record for the month of August. July’s PSNCR was also revised up by some £1.5 billion. The government’s preferred accruals-based measure, public sector net borrowing came in at £16.119 billion s, also weaker than expected and a record high for August, versus £9.876 billion pounds in 2008.

The flow of net lending to companies fell in July by the largest sum on record, according to a statement issued by the Bank of England on Friday. The figures provide further indication that more action may be needed to get credit flowing in the UK economy.

On a more positive note, mortgage approvals by major UK lenders rose in August for the seventh consecutive month to 57,000 from 53,000 in July. The net flow of lending to UK businesses fell £15.5 billion in July after a £3.6 billion pounds fall in June, making for the largest single decline since 1998.

UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has called on the European Union to intervene to prevent governments using state aid as a bargaining chip to protect jobs during Magna International Inc.’s takeover of General Motors Co.’s EU plants. Mandelson has joined the list of European politicians concerned that a German plan to provide €3 billion in loan guarantees to support the GM-Magna deal will sway the company. As the carmaker struggles with overcapacity, Magna has said it plans to cut about 10,500 jobs.

According to senior officials at the State Bank of India,(SBI) India’s largest lender, are looking at acquisitions of up to $1 billion in the UK and expect to maintain a 40 per cent growth rate in its UK business.

The bank’s overseas business plans, expected to be driven by both expansion and acquisitions, include the opening of 40 overseas branches, according to SBI chairman OP Bhatt. The bank was looking at all regions of the World, including the UK, for acquisitions. Besides the UK, the regions where the bank plans to open new branches include North America, Bangladesh and Nepal, where its subsidiary will set up 11 more outfits. It will open five more in branches in the UK by June next year and make London a hub for its European operations to boost international business. At present, the lender has seven branches in the UK and plan to open another, hopefully in October.Currently, the UK contributes over $3 billion to SBI’s turnover.

British Sky Broadcasting has accused the media regulator of making elementary errors in an official review of the pay-television market, and said that Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, was exceeding its powers. BSkyB delivered its detailed response to the regulator’s findings that it should sell its most valuable content, including Premier League football and first-run films, to rivals at prices set by Ofcom. In the document, the broadcaster accuses the regulator of producing a financial analysis is fundamentally flawed, as well as challenging Ofcom’s right to even rule on the case, that has taken two years to decide. The pay-TV review was prompted by a complaint from four of BSkyB’s competitors, Top-Up TV, BT Vision, Virgin Media and the now defunct Setanta.

The biscuit group that makes Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, Burton’s Foods have been taken over by its lenders in a debt restructuring move that leaves Duke Street Capital, its private equity owner, nursing a considerable loss. The fate of Duke Street’s investment in Burton’s comes just over two years after its plans to close one of the biscuit maker’s factories caused the private equity group to be invited to a parliamentary inquiry for questioning.

On the FTSE Standard Life rose 1.8 per cent to 283 pence after Goldman added the insurer to its “buy” list.

Leading property stocks were higher. British Land gained 3.3 per cent to 528 pence after completing the sale of half its Broadgate development to Blackstone. Hammerson followed, gaining 2.6 per cent to 439½ pence.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index continued to climb but at a slower pace , rising 8.94 points to close at 5172.89, making for a 3.2 per cent gain for the week.

Meanwhile the FTSE 250 lost almost all of its previous day’s gains on Friday, falling 57.15 points to wrap up for the weekend on 9,306.93

The dollar fell to fresh one-year lows this week as rising risk appetite stemmed haven demand for the US currency. Continued improvement in sentiment encouraged investors to abandon the low-yielding dollar to seek higher returns elsewhere. The pound continued to lose value against the main currencies on Friday’s trading.

• Pound/US dollar 1.6271
• Pound/Euro 1.1059
• Pound/Japanese Yen 148.7878
• Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6751

Another two US banks have been closed by the federal regulator, taking the total number of American banking failures this year to 94.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which controls the banking sector, has shut Irwin Union Bank & Trust and Irwin Union Bank.

The move comes after their parent firm – Irwin Financial – was unable to meet an FDIC demand to boost their capital.

The failure of the two banks is likely to cost the FDIC £522 million.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to move upwards towards the weekend , up 36.28 points at 9,820.2. The NASDAQ consolidated a little, up 6.11 points to 2132.86.

Gold dominated trading this week with bullion inching towards its record high of $1,030.80 a troy ounce set in March 2008.

It reached $1,023.85 on Thursday but was back to $1,012 on Friday, up 0.7 per cent on the week. It found support from dollar weakness and concerns about the outlook for inflation.

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