Much as he tried to keep a low profile on the subject, Chancellor Alistair Darling’s budget speech on Wednesday had a definite pre-election feel to it as were most of the measures taken, with the useful suspects of cigarettes, spirits and petrol taking their usual pounding, but to varying degrees.

No sooner than Darling closed his famous red briefcase,

Shadow chancellor George Osborne launched his expected attack, describing Labour’s Budget as being empty and lacking in vision.

In his speech the Chancellor was not slow to point out that Labour’s policies were "bearing fruit" and expressed what appeared to be genuine concerns that if the Tories should get into power their spending cut plans could send the UK back into a much feared "double dip recession".

The Liberal Democrats, who obviously felt that they had to add something to the debate, chipped in with "Labour and the Tories are both in denial about the scale of spending cuts needed".

In his budget speech, Darling did announce that the government will need to borrow less than expected this year to plug the gap in the UK’s finances, with

Net borrowing for the financial year expected to total £167 billion, down from the £178 billion previously forecast. Borrowing this year is still expected to be at a record high – equivalent to 11.8% of GDP.

On the downside, Darling also downgraded his growth forecast for the UK economy.

Fuel duty will rise more slowly than previously planned, with a previously announced 3% rise in fuel duty l now be staggered, with a 1% rise in April, a further 1% rise in October, and then again in January. 2011, with phasing the increase rather than raising fuel duty by 3% immediately will cost £550 million.

UK banks received a number of mentions in Darling’s speech some of which were even favourable. The general underlying theme was that the UK taxpayer will be looking to see the banks move back to profit while increasing their support the economic recovery and improve financial expansion.

Alistair Darling noted that £2 billion had been raised through the 50 per cent one off "super tax" on bankers’ bonuses over £25,000, making for a 400% increase of the original forecast of £550 million. The windfall will largely be spent on further measures to stimulate the economy as well as some to be set aside to subsidies university places.

Other interesting snippets from the budget were that the government will allow tax breaks for companies who run zero-emission cars. Currently employees with a company vehicle for private use are required to pay a tax charge, with the exception of electrically propelled cars. However, the government has pledged to expand the exemption to cover "green cars" with these incentives to come into effect after April 6. Darling also threw in the information that the scheme to fund the deployment of superfast broadband looks likely to cost the industry and the consumer much more than expected, with every telecommunication line be subject to a monthly 50 pence levy on landlines. The government claims the new tax is necessary to ensure superfast broadband reaches suburban and rural areas.

It also appears that in order to partly fund the Budget’s 2.5 billion pound package for small firms, Darling intends to switch £230 million pounds of spending for 2010-11 from the departments for business and transport. The department for business said 1£50 million pounds will be transferred, largely at the expense of the £950 million pound strategic investment fund, which is supposed to provide state financing for strategic growth sectors, such as the civil nuclear industry.

Returning to reality, the UK’s two rail trade unions have announced their plans for four days of strikes to kick-off two days after Easter. If the industrial action from the RMT and the Transport Salaried Staff’s Association does transpire , it could see the UK hold its first national rail strike since the system’s privatisation. However, there is a strong possibility that the strikes will be called off, with negotiations with National Rail, the infrastructure owner, already well under way. .

U.K. engineering-services firm Babcock International have announced their plans to acquire the VT Group for around £1.33 billion pounds, in a mix of cash and stock. The announcement comes after two previous bids had been rejected.

Babcock is to pay 361.6 pence in cash and 0.701 of its own shares for every share in VT Group. As the sale was concluded, the offer was valued at 734.9 pence a share, meaning that Babcock paid a 39% premium to the average closing price over the month VT investors will hold around 36% of the combined company once the deal is completed. On the news shares in VT Group rose 4.4% on the FTSE to 721 pence, while Babcock also posted strong gains, rising 3.8% to 553 pence. A spokesman for Babcock said that they expect the deal to boost their earnings significantly in the first full year after completion.

The pound continues to be a problematic issue in the Forex markets. It closed On Thursday on $1.4863 while the Euro rose a little to on €1.1143.

The FTSE 100 index seemed to be pushed forward by Darling’s budget as well as increased optimism on Greece. It closed up 54 points to 5,727.63.

The House of Representatives put the finishing touches on the overhaul of Obama’s pet Health Care bill by passing a companion package that would make insurance more affordable, raise taxes on the wealthy and close a gap for prescription drug coverage for seniors. The Senate approved the package earlier in the day, which means that it now goes to Obama to sign.

The votes concluded a yearlong political struggle that tied up lawmakers, as well as making for a noticeable dent in Obama’s popularity

However passing the Health Care bill might be causing some problems on Wall Street. The Dow Jones retreated a little after a week of impressive gains; down by 377 points to close on 10841.21 The NASDAQ also dropped 18 points to 2397.41.

Greece seems to be out of trouble, at least for the time being. All of the 16 Eurozone member countries have finally come up with their backing for a financing plan, with some of the funds coming from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The loan will total €22 billion (£20billion), with the condition that it is only to be used if normal market lending facilities to Greece will dry up. According to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Eurozone nations would grant bilateral loans, totalling some two-thirds of the funding,

Greek PM George Papandreou was quoted as saying that it was "a very satisfactory" move.

Also breathing sighs of relief are the owners of the Dubai World investment vehicle who have just been granted a £6.4 billion ($9.5 billion) loan help it’s to restructure their debt burden from the Dubai government

Dubai World has presented a plan to restructure $ 23.5 billion of debt to its creditors, with the proposal including converting almost a quarter of the debt into equity. Creditors have now to decide on whether to accept the plan, with analysts predicting that it is as good as it gets. The troubled company stunned global markets in November last year when it asked for a six-month delay on debt repayments.

financial

• Setting a Wine Budget When it comes to collecting wine, collecting wine bottles, or...
• The joy of Christmas is found in Giving Occasionally, when our pastor is away, he will ask me...
• How Traders Make 28% Returns In A Day Friday's stock market had a distinct sense of deja vu...

Tags: Alastair Darling, Babcock International, Bank, bankers' bonuses, Banking, British Economy, Budget, Currency, Dow Jones, Dubai World, Economics, Economy, Financial News, Forex, FTSE, Fuel duty, George Osborne, George Papandreou, International Monetary Fund, Money, Money Management, NASDAQ, National Rail, Nicolas Sarkozy, Stocks and shares, superfast broadband, Transport Salaried Staff's Association, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, VT Group, Wall Street

Alistair Darling, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that he is open to discussion on the possibility of scaling back on the interest rate charges which Iceland is required to make on the £3.4 billion pound losses from failed online bank Icesave. After talks between the governments in London, Darling was reported as saying that although British taxpayers "must get their money back" the Treasury could be willing to negotiate terms. The Treasury is considering two options to scale back interest rate charges while insisting that both options must see debts being fully recouped. The Icelandic government is seemingly eager to arrive at a more flexible compromise as opinion polls in the country suggest the initial deal that was hammered out would be more than likely rejected in a forthcoming referendum.

According to a very recent survey, the UK personal computer (PC) market saw fourth quarter growth for the first time in a year, despite a fall in sales from the business sector. Holding the top spot were Acer with 19.1 per cent market share, with HP hot on their heels with an 18.9 per cent market share. Dell was in third place with 16.5 per cent, followed by Toshiba and Samsung with 10.4 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively. The total UK market in terms of shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010 was 3.8 million units. A market analyst reported that the personal computer market in the UK was becoming increasingly dependent on laptops (mobiles), which accounted for 70 per cent of the total PC market, with growth in demand reaching 24 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009. However, the report did state that despite the overall growth, the professional PC market declined by 25 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The much loved general interest magazine Reader’s Digest UK has been forced into administration after failing to gain support from the UK pension’s regulator over an agreement for funding their £125 million pension deficit. The UK subsidiary of U.S. Reader’s Digest Association have recently brokered a deal with trustees of its pension plan and the Pension Protection Fund. The deal would have seen a capital payment alongside the transfer of a one-third interest in the equity of the UK business to the UK pension scheme trustees. The UK is the only branch of the multiple national Readers’ Digest Association with a large pension shortfall. The parent company said the UK insolvency is not liable to have a material impact on its other global operations.

Legal & General (L&G) has revealed plans to supply "longevity insurance" to pension funds, in a move which will see the insurer compete against the major European insurance companies. The launch of the new insurance product by L&G will precede similar plans by others in the insurance sector including Prudential, who are also considering moving into this market. A spokesman for L&G emphasised that the provision of longevity swaps will "develop alongside and not necessarily compete with" L&G’s bulk annuity business. Babcock International and RSA were reported to be the first companies to take out longevity protection in 2009.

Private equity group HgCapital Trust is seeking to raise more capital from investors by preparing a share issue to shore up its finances, amid expectation of a rise in new investments. Industry sources suggest the London-listed group could raise as much as 50 million pounds. As one of the best-performing listed private equity groups with a market capitalisation of 210 million pounds, HgCapital is hoping to appeal to investors from its position of strength by making a placing of ordinary shares with subscription shares attached. A spokesman for the company projected that HgCapital will invest more than it sells, as the market conditions present bargains.

Shares in Barclays were up 2.9 per cent to 302 pence on a positive response to their recent results. Ahead of their results due to be issued next week, Lloyds Banking Group rose 3.2 per cent to 50½ pence and Royal Bank of Scotland took on 1.9 per cent to 34 pence.

Sterling continued to slip against both the Euro and the Dollar. It closed at $1. 5392 while settling on 1.1409 against the Euro.

Overall, the FTSE 100 added 32 points to 5,307.85, meaning that it has risen for seven of the last eight sessions.

According to a report released on Thursday, certain of the states of the U.S. look like facing a total shortfall totaling no less than $1 trillion in their funds for employees’ pensions and retirement benefits. The state of Illinois is reported to be in the worst shape, with only 54 percent of its pension obligations funded, according to the report, taken into account only the fiscal years up to June 2008. That fact makes the picture even less than rosy as the downturn that began in the final six months of 2008 and continued till the end of 2009 – was when many funds’ investment portfolios suffered their most serious devastation. Regardless of stock market fluctuations, pension funds were destined to fall down a budget hole, the non-profit research center who prepared the report pointed out.

The US Federal Reserve has predicted that the US economy is still on target to grow strongly during 2010, but unemployment will remain high, has warned. In its latest forecast, the Fed said that the economy would expand between 2.8% and 3.5% in 2010, with the unemployment rate expected to remain between 9.5% and 9.7% in 2010.

Encouraging January housing starts, better-than-expected earnings and receding fears on the European sovereign debt situation boosted risk appetite prompted Wall Street stocks to rise moderately for the second consecutive session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 93 points to 10,392.9 while the NASDAQ Composite rose 15 points to 2,241.71

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has raised its outlook for its financial year after strong sales over the Christmas period lifted its profits by 25%.

Higher demand for its personal computers and servers saw its net profit for the three months to 31 January total $2.32 billion (£1.48 billion).

This compares with $1.86 billion for the same first quarter period a year earlier. HP’s revenues for the quarter were up 8% to $31.2 billion, as its results came in ahead of market expectations.

The price of oil has risen sharply as the dollar, the currency in which the commodity is priced, weakened against the pound and the euro.

US light crude rose by $3 to $ $77.01 with London Brent settling at $75.68 a barrel.

financial

• Starting a State Quarters Collection If you have an interest in coins or coin collecting,...
• The Cost of Running a PC 24 Hours a Day I saw an interesting question over at slashdot on the...
• Which Keyword Tools Work Ideal For Niche Marketing? Keyword tools are something each marketer needs to utilize but...

Tags: Alistair Darling, Babcock International, Banking, Barclays, British Economy, British Pound, Credit Crunch, Currency, Economy, Financial News, FTSE, Hewlett-Packard, HgCapital, Icesave, Legal & General, Lloyds Banking Group, Money, NASDAQ, Reader's Digest Association, Recession, Retail, Royal Bank of Scotland, RSA, Savings, Stocks and shares, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, Wall Street

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.

financial

• Write Your Own Retirement Paycheck Since being invited to blog on-site from the AARP Orlando@50+...
• Lending Club vs Prosper -- The First 100 Days Take 3 Yesterday and the day before, in reaction to Lending Club's...
• Present Value and Future Value - Understanding the Difference In macroeconomics, two important financial structures are the present value...

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