Business Headlines
Markets suffer early reverse
After modest gains in the US and UK in Friday's trading, markets in Asia went in to reverse today as bankruptcies by listed companies in Japan rose to a postwar record. In the wake of the failure of homebuilder Morimoto, the property sector declined in Japan, while in Australia, worry over commodity price falls dragged down mining shares. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 per cent, ending its recent rally, with only Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucking the downward trend. In London the FTSE 100 opened down one per cent.
What happens when a Western economy dies 
Oil falls as OPEC delays meeting
A decade after it failed to prevent oil from "collapsing", OPEC producers have "postponed debate" on a second cut in output, reported Bloomberg.com. Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put off the meeting to later this month, even as oil prices slid nearly $100 from their record levels in the summer, to $48.25 a barrel. Analysts believe not enough has been done to prevent the decline, and with some forecasting a contraction in global demand there are fears that the oil price could revisit its 1998 level of $10 per barrel.
The timebomb in the heart of Istanbul
RBS eases repossession terms
The campaign to force UK banks to help customers hit by mortgage repayment problems will be helped by the promise by Royal Bank of Scotland to give them "at least six months' breathing space", said the Financial Times. The commitment will "put pressure" on other banks to follow suit as the government prepares plans to make voluntary codes of practice statutory instead. The six month pledge is double the minimum recommended by industry guidelines and comes only days after the government took 58 per cent ownership of RBS.
Newsdesk: RBS delays repossessions
Pressure grows for big rate cut
"Dire" figures from UK manufacturers will today put "extra pressure" on the Bank of England to make large cuts in interest rates, said the Independent. The EEF industry body is to warn today that British manufacturing is facing the "toughest conditions for two decades" as orders plummet and job losses increase. The group is calling for the BoE to cut rates by a whole percentage point in the wake of the Bank's 1.5 per cent reduction last month. Every index tracked by the EEF "dropped through the floor" in its last quarterly survey.
The Pre-Budget Report was a purely political exercise
One thousand businesses collapse
More than a thousand UK businesses have collapsed in the course of the past year, with experts predicting more to come after a "tough" Christmas, reported the Daily Telegraph. 1,087 non-food retail businesses, including Woolworths and MFI, have collapsed in the past 12 months, a 17 per cent increase since last year, according to research company Experian. The company's chief economist, Matthew Sherwood, said the downturn has "much further to run", amid worries that the 2.5 per cent cut in VAT will do little to increase spending.
Bankrupt Britain: how it could happen
Minister warns on Japan stimulus
Japan's economy minister warned that it is "unlikely to respond" to a planned fiscal stimulus, reported the Financial Times. Kaoru Yosano said that the Japanese economy will instead have to undergo higher unemployment and a return to deflation and falling output. He warned on "shrinking consumption" as October industrial output fell 3.1 per cent month on month, with a 6.2 per cent fall expected in November. Analysts called the decline "unprecedented", with data for November showing Japan entered recession in the three months to September.
Japan's return from financial oblivion
...in brief..................
John Lewis sales slump and Hiscox predicts art price fall
John Lewis Partnership said sales in its department stores fell 13 per cent on the year last week, as consumer confidence waned. Revenues increased 10 per cent on the previous week, however, which the company attributed to its early adoption of the 2.5 per cent VAT cut…………
London Scottish Bank, which specialises in lending to customers with poor credit histories, filed for bankruptcy this morning, reported the Times. Regulators stopped the group accepting customer deposits but the government said no savers would lose money…………
Ryanair has launched a fresh bid for rival airline Aer Lingus, in an effort to create a single "strong Irish airline group", said the Guardian. The low-cost airline announced its approach this morning, 18 months after its previous bid was blocked by the European commission…………
There are ten "serious" bidders lining up for the next round of talks on a Woolworths rescue, said the Independent. These include Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis and property tycoon Ardeshir Naghshineh, as the administrator’s telephone is "ringing off the hook" with interest…………
People: Will Theo Paphitis save Woolies?
General Motors and Ford have approached the Swedish government over financial aid for their Saab and Volvo brands, reported the Financial Times. They want to "bolster" the finances of the two marques ahead of selling them to try to avert possible bankruptcy…………
Are GM, Ford and Chrysler too big to fail?
Hiscox, the largest specialist art insurer in Europe, believes that the price of fine art "could halve", said the Daily Telegraph. It said that the market lags a recession by a year to 18 months but there are now signs that it is becoming "increasingly challenging"…………
The contemporary art market is crashing
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