business headlines
BT is cutting 10,000 jobs among agency workers and sub-contractors, reported theIndependent. Consultants and contractor jobs will fall 12 per cent, while direct staff numbers will come down by four per cent. Globally BT employs 160,000 workers…………
Global market rout continues
Stocks in America and Asia continued their precipitous falls, on plans by the US Treasury no longer to consider buying mortgage assets. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the US government's focus was shifting from illiquid mortgage-related assets to consumer credit. Shares in Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs all fell more than nine per cent on the news and Asia reacted negatively, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index declining five per cent. In the UK the FTSE 100 opened over two per cent lower.
America braced for next mortgage crisis 
Bank bail out is the biggest bank heist ever
Opinion digest: printing money can help fight deflation
Crude oil plummets
The price of crude oil fell below $55 a barrel, its lowest level in nearly two years, as traders became concerned about slowing global demand, said Bloomberg.com. As the global economy deteriorates, the need for oil is declining, with US gasoline purchases dropping 4.2 per cent last week, its 29th consecutive drop. A contributory factor was the expectation that the International Energy Agency will cut its global demand estimate today and the US will announce that stockpiles rose by 1m barrels last week.
America enters a new Depression
Iran's threat to close down the Gulf
Bleak economic view from BoE
As the Bank of England issued its "bleakest assessment" of the economy in 15 years, the pound suffered a renewed bout of weakness, reported the Financial Times. The Bank's growth forecast that the economy would contract 1.3 per cent in 2009, with a 20 per cent risk of deflation, together with governor Mervyn King's comments, suggested further rate cuts were likely. King also opened the door to using fiscal stimulus to support the economy, saying that it was desirable in "exceptional circumstances".
The Bank of England's desperate bid for relevance
Sainsbury’s reports rise in profits
Supermarket group Sainsbury's reported yesterday that first half profits rose 11 per cent to £258m, said the Daily Telegraph. Like for like sales over the period were up 3.9 per cent, higher than "arch-rival and market leader" Tesco's, which saw a rise of 3.7 per cent. Chief executive Justin King said that the company was moving further towards the value end of the market, as household budgets have been "squeezed" due to the credit crisis. However the Christmas season remains a big challenge, with Aldi, Asda and Morrisons all competing strongly.
Hugh F-W declares war on cut-price Tesco broilers
Germany announces recession
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, is now "officially in recession", reported the Times. GDP for the third quarter "slumped" a weaker-than-expected 0.5 per cent, following a revised 0.4 per cent drop in growth in the second quarter, meaning that an announcement of recession was inevitable. Exports for the third quarter were hit by the strength of the euro as the country's goods became more expensive for overseas purchasers. The last time that Germany was in recession was in the second half of 2003 and it joins Ireland, which is already in that position.
How Porsche took the hedge funds to the cleaners
China output slows
China's industrial output grew at a slower rate than any economist predicted in October, reported Bloomberg.com. The slowdown increased concerns that the biggest motor of world growth is "running out of steam". Production was up 8.2 per cent year over year, for the smallest gain in seven years, the country's statistics bureau confirmed today. Output was up 11.4 per cent in September. The figure is likely to put pressure on the Chinese government to cut interest rates and increase spending to support the economy.
After the credit crunch, what next for the world?
...in brief..................
BT cuts jobs and Scottish & Southern to drop prices
BT is cutting 10,000 jobs among agency workers and sub-contractors, reported the Independent. Consultants and contractor jobs will fall 12 per cent, while direct staff numbers will come down by four per cent. Globally BT employs 160,000 workers…………
Siemens, Europe's biggest engineering company, has reported worse than expected fourth quarter profits. Slowing demand, a bribery scandal and the costs of reorganisation affected earnings and the company is considering 16,750 job cuts by the year 2010…………
The world's largest chipmaker, Intel, "shocked Wall Street" with an earnings warning that showed just how bad business has become in the past month, said the Financial Times. The warning caused Intel shares to fall six per cent in after-hours trading…………
Sir Philip Green has bought a 28.5 per cent stake in suit retailer Moss Bros. In a shock move he paid Icelandic investment group Baugur 24.95p a share, or £6.7m, for the stake. The move caused further speculation that the billionaire is going to buy high street assets on the cheap…………
People: will Philip Green be Shepherdson's boss again?
Sir George Mathewson and Sir Beter Burt are to continue with their plans to prevent the HBOS takeover. Yesterday they said they will not give up, even after Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition leader David Cameron agreed the Lloyds takeover should continue…………
HBOS: Lloyds rides to the rescue
Scottish & Southern says it will reduce the price of fuel for its customers next year if oil stays at its current levels. Chief executive Ian Marchant said that he was "confident" the price decline would be passed on, despite reporting a 54.5 per cent fall in profits in the first half…………
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