Finance Matters

• 01Sep

  Fuel duty to rise from midnight

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  From The BBC:

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  Jo Tanner, Freight Transport Association: “It could be the end of the road”
  A two pence rise in fuel duty will come into effect from midnight, the third increase in nine months.Stephen Glaister, director of road users’ pressure group RAC Foundation, told the BBC the government’s latest rise “will hit everybody hard”. When VAT is included, the increase will actually total 2.3p. The average price of petrol across the UK is about 105p per litre. The government says the extra duty is needed to help fund public investment. ‘Huge effect’AA president Edmund King said the timing of the rise was “pretty dire”, at a time when the UK economy was trying to exit recession.
  Mr King said its members were already having to cut back on car journeys due to the high price of fuel, and that this would only increase following the latest rise, meaning the government’s revenues will not actually rise. The Petrol Retailers Association pointed ou…

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• 01Sep

  Repossession advice site launched

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  From The BBC:

  The Ministry of Justice has launched a series of online articles and videos to help people who are threatened with having their homes repossessed.The advice at www.direct.gov.uk gives advice from the first arrears right up to what happens at a court hearing. It is suitable for both homeowners and people renting a home. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has predicted that 65,000 homes will be repossessed by lenders as a result of mortgage arrears in 2009. “The Government has taken considerable steps to ensure people struggling to pay their rent or mortgage get the help they need to stay in their homes,” said Justice Minister Bridget Prentice. “Mortgage repossession figures released earlier this month show that the number of people facing repossession has considerably reduced since this time last year, but we’re not complacent.” The number of homes repossessed in the UK fell 10% in the three months from April to June, compared with the previous three months, according to the CML. But…

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• 01Sep

  Arnie’s garage sale raises $1.5m to cut California’s budget deficit

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  From The BBC:

  A “garage sale” organised by Arnold Schwarzenegger to raise money to help reduce California’s budget deficit has raised more than $1.5m (£925,000).Hundreds of people attended the main sale in Sacramento, where everything from former police cars to watches confiscated from criminals were sold. A number of cars and motorcycles were signed by Mr Schwarzenegger himself, who is the state governor. However, reports said that in some cases this did not help boost prices. One Californian resident who attended the Great Californian Garage Sale told the AP news agency that he objected to state officials increasing the sale price of a BMW motorcycle from $2,200 to $3,000 because it had been signed by Mr Schwarzenegger. “It’s graffiti,” said Alex Wingate. ‘Dress appropriately’Six hundred formerly state-owned vehicles and 6,000 pieces of office furniture, computers, and other items went under the hammer during the two-day event. While the main sale was held in Sacramento, some products – such…

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• 01Sep

  Price falls slowing in eurozone

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  From The BBC:

  The eurozone’s annual rate of inflation was negative in August for the third consecutive month.Prices in the 16-nation bloc fell 0.2% in the past year, Eurostat said, following the record 0.7% fall in July. Inflation in the eurozone has been dragged down by lower energy and food prices and by falling demand from both companies and households. The downward trend began in June with a 0.1% fall in prices, but a Japan-style deflationary spiral is not predicted. Oil effectDeflation is considered damaging to an economy because consumers tend to delay making major purchases until prices fall further. Without consumer spending to stimulate growth, economic output falls. The European Central Bank’s target rate for inflation is just below 2%. The reduced rate of price falls in August is “clearly primarily due to oil prices falling at a significantly reduced rate year-on-year,” said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight. “It seems highly probable that July marked the deepe…

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• 31Aug

  Disney to buy Marvel in $4bn deal

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  From The BBC:

  Entertainment giant Walt Disney is to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal valued at $4bn (£2.5bn).The deal means Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. Marvel shareholders will get $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share owned. The boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the deal, which now needs the backing of Marvel shareholders and competition authorities. Marvel shares were ahead $9.68, or 25%, to $48.33 in Monday trading while Disney shares fell 80 cents, or 3%, to $26.04. ‘Great assets'”We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation,” Disney president and chief executive Robert Iger said. “We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney.” Other Marvel’s characters include Captain America, the Fantastic Four and Thor. “Disney is the perfect home for Marv…

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• 31Aug

  Nigeria begins bank boss charges

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  From The BBC:

  Four senior banking executives in Nigeria have appeared in court to deny charges they were involved in a multi-billion dollar banking scandal.The three men and one woman were chief executives of major banks until being fired from their jobs two weeks ago. Anti-corruption police brought criminal charges against executives from five banks rescued in a 400bn naira ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) government bail-out. All the banks were found to have low cash reserves because of bad loans. Former Finbank chief Okey Nwosu was the first to plead not guilty to 11 charges relating to bad debt built up under his management. The three other banking chief executives, Sebastian Adigwe, Berth Ebong and Cecilia Ibru, all pleaded not guilty to charges put to them at hearings later on Monday. They and their teams are accused of fraud, giving loans to fake companies, lending to businesses they had a personal interest in and conspiring with stockbrokers to drive up share prices, says the BBC’s Caroline Duffield i…

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• 31Aug

  Brazil unveils oil rules changes

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  From The BBC:

  Brazil has unveiled plans to bring more state control to its oil industry and take advantage of offshore reserves.President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has proposed switching to a system which would see the government own a part of all oil produced. Currently, companies bid to win the rights to explore for oil in blocks. President Lula said the rules, if approved by congress, would see a “new Independence Day” for Brazil, helping tackle poverty and fund education. It is thought Brazil’s reservoirs of oil could see it become a producer nation to rival some Opec countries such as Venezuela within a decade. However the location of the oil, about 500km (311 miles) off its south-eastern coast, means huge investment will be needed.
  President Lula has called it a passport for the future – an opportunity to be seized in terms of combating poverty and investing much needed funds in education.Part of the task is to ensure that the government secures a bigger share of the profits without alienatin…

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• 31Aug

  SocGen trader Kerviel is charged

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  From The BBC:

  An alleged “rogue trader” blamed by French bank Societe Generale for 4.9bn euros (£4.3bn; $7.2bn) in losses has been charged.Jerome Kerviel is accused of forgery, breach of trust and unauthorized computer use. Mr Kerviel has been under investigation since SocGen unveiled the losses in 2008, which it blamed on unauthorised deals carried out by him. The former trader has always maintained the bank knew about the risky deals. His superiors turned a blind eye to his trading while he was earning money for the bank, but intervened when he began to lose, he has argued. The trial is not expected to begin until next year. TransparencyThe case has led to concerns in France over lack of transparency at banks. Senior executive Jean-Pierre Mustier and non-executive director Robert Day, who are the subject of an inquiry by the French financial watchdog, reject allegations of wrongdoing. Mr Mustier led Societe Generale’s corporate and investment banking division, where Mr Kerviel worked. He ste…

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• 31Aug

  US faces sanctions in cotton row

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  From The BBC:

  The US faces annual trade sanctions of about $295m (£181m) for failing to scrap illegal subsidies paid to its cotton growers.However the punishment, imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO), is far less than the $4bn that Brazil, which brought the case, had wanted. A WTO panel upheld last year’s ruling that subsidies helped US cotton growers undercut foreign competitors. Brazil said that its farmers and those in West Africa had suffered the most. It made reference to the $4bn figure in documents it filed with the WTO about three years ago. Squeezed outThe US said it was “disappointed” with the overall outcome of the dispute, which saw the WTO rule that Brazil could take retaliatory sanctions against the US and “suspend concessions or other obligations”. But the US Trade Representative’s office added that it was “pleased” that arbitrators had “awarded Brazil far below the amount of counter measures it asked for”. US cotton subsidies were one of the most contested issues in th…

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• 25Aug

  William Hill cashes in on Ashes thanks to unpatriotic punters

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  From The BBC:

  UK bookmaker William Hill has said it won a “six-figure sum” after England regained the Ashes on Sunday.After England’s 5-0 drubbing in 2007, it seems that most English cricket fans had expected the Australians to retain the prize. “The patriotic punt never really occurred,” the bookmaker said. “Although I am sure they will never admit it the majority of our customers were backing Ponting and his men all through the series,” it added. Australia tried hard to fight back on day four of the Test, but were unsuccessful in their quest to score what would have been a world-record-breaking target of 546 for victory. But Australian captain Ricky Ponting was ran out by Andrew Flintoff and Mike Hussey was last out to seal England’s 2-1 victory at The Oval. “We were sweating a bit before Ponting was run out but have cleaned up with a six figure win,” said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams….

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