Britannia Radio

ECONOMIC ‘Shorts’ 20.2.09

TIMES
=Anglo American cuts 19,000 jobs
The mining giant says it is cutting the dividend to preserve cash as
net earnings fall by almost 30 per cent
=People seeking bankruptcy up by a third
Official court figures show that more than 15,000 people sought
bankruptcy in final three months of last year
=Prudential allays market fears over capital
Britain's second-largest life assurer cheered the market this morning
with healthy sales and a solid capital position

TELEGRAPH
=Home repossessions rise 54pc to 40,000
The number of UK homes repossessed last year rose 54pc to a 12-year
high of 40,000, new figures show.
=UK car production slumps 58.7pc
The dramatic decline in the UK auto industry has been confirmed by a
58.7pc fall in car production in January

FINANCIAL TIMES
=Eurozone lurches deeper into recession
The eurozone economy has been shrinking since the middle of last
year, but official figures last week showed the pace of contraction
accelerated dramatically in the final quarter, when gross domestic
product fell by 1.5 per cent. That put the region on course for the
worst recession seen in continental Europe since the second world war.

GUARDIAN
=Dow falls send London into a spin
3pm update: Shares fell sharply in London as nervous traders reacted
to Thursday's alarming fall on Wall Street and further falls on Friday.