...the main headlines..........
Markets weaker on Obama talk
Markets around the world were weaker after Barack Obama talked of the US facing a “full-blown crisis”. In New York yesterday the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 per cent during trading, but after Obama’s speech S&P futures dropped 1.4 per cent. The fall dragged down Asian markets, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index losing 0.4 per cent in Tokyo. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.2 per cent after Orix Corp, its biggest non-bank lender, fell 10 per cent on reduced earnings forecasts. In London the FTSE 100 Index was down nearly one per cent at the open.
Alexander Cockburn: Obama gambles on Israel but plays it straight on the economy 
Obama talks of catastrophe
Barack Obama warned the US yesterday that the economic crisis could turn into a “catastrophe” if “decisive action” was not taken to stabilise the situation, reported the Financial Times. The president gave the “bleak” speech live on television, causing stock futures to drop sharply. His comments were calculated to increase the pressure on Congress to approve the proposed $800bn fiscal stimulus plan and a “fresh financial rescue package”. Obama warned that the US faced a “lost decade”, similar to Japan’s if it did not act.
Signs of depression as outlaws gain sympathy thanks to greedy bankers
In pictures: Folorn in the USA
Balls likens recession to Depression
Britain is facing the most serious recession “for over 100 years”, according to Gordon Brown’s close ally Ed Balls, reported the Financial Times. In a speech at the weekend with echoes of President Obama’s yesterday, children’s secretary Balls said the current crisis could be “worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s”. The conservative party picked up on the speech and called it a “worrying admission”, coming on the heels of last week’s use of the word “depression” by Gordon Brown, described as a “slip of the tongue”.
The Mole: Brown uses the D-word, but Cameron doesn't notice
Bank bosses to face grilling
Former bank chiefs Sir Fred Goodwin and Andy Hornby, along with other ex-bank bosses, will appear before the treasury select committee later today and are expected to undergo a severe “grilling” by MPs, reported the Daily Telegraph. The “influential” committee is likely to provide a “bruising encounter” for the group of former executives, in the wake of the plan by RBS to pay its staff bonuses of £1bn, despite being 70 per cent government-owned. Goodwin has hired Phil Hall, the former News of the World editor, to represent him.
Pros and Cons: bonuses for bankers
What happens when a Western economy dies
Recession to lead to crime wave
The recession may be “deeper” than expected and lead to an “upsurge” in fraud over the coming months, reported the Independent. The warning came from the Financial Services Authority in its latest review of conditions, in which it also hinted that the £37bn recapitalisation of the banking sector “may not be enough to save them”. The FSA suggested that a financial crime wave was “about to engulf the nation”, with criminals changing their approach to crime and targeting “disgruntled” employees suffering financial pressures.
Boot is on the other foot for 'bankster' Del Biaggio
Nissan shares rise after job cuts
Shares in Nissan Motor, Japan’s third-biggest carmaker, rose as much as 10 per cent, the most in a month, after yesterday’s announcement that it would cut 20,000 jobs, reported Bloomberg.com. The automaker is to “slash” labour costs by ¥175bn or $1.9bn, after it forecast its first loss in nine years. With the company expecting a net loss of Y265bn or $2.9bn for the year to March 31 it also plans to shift more production overseas away from “high-wage countries”, in order to overcome the negative effects of the strong yen.
Concept cars that consign Clarkson to history
...in brief..................
Details of RBS bonuses emerge and retail sales jump in January
More details are emerging about Royal Bank of Scotland’s proposed bonus payments, said the Independent. The “bonus pool” is said to be down around 60 per cent on 2007 and payments will be more in shares then cash, thus linking them to the future performance of the group…………
Barclays has been forced to defend its accounting policies in the wake of its announcement of a £6.1bn profit, reported the Guardian. The worries centre on the bank’s balance sheet, which, after “ballooning” to over £2tr is now larger than the annual output of the whole UK economy…………
UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, reported a fourth-quarter loss of 8.1bn Swiss francs ($6.9bn) after credit crisis-related writedowns, said Bloomberg.com. The net loss is an improvement on the 13bn francs deficit a year earlier, but still bigger than analysts’ estimates…………
How the Feds learned to love art
Gordon Brown is being urged to “scrap” or postpone plans to partially privatise Royal Mail, said the Times. There is a “growing revolt” by Labour MPs, 100 of whom have signed a motion opposing the idea, meaning that the government will have to rely on Conservative votes to push the plans through…………
Will Self: The Post Office we hanker after no longer exists
Investors are buying “record amounts” of gold bars and coins, as they flee more risky assets for the safety of bullion, reported the Financial Times. The US Mint sold four times as many American Eagle coins last month as it did a year earlier and more than it shipped during the whole of 2007…………
Cash was king - now gold is God
Retail sales “unexpectedly jumped” in January, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, said the Daily Telegraph. Underlying sales growth was 1.1 per cent better than the previous year, the best performance since May 2008. The gain was attributed to “heavy discounting”…………
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