News and comment

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Citywire Investment News

• Grant Thornton?s top 10 Budget predictions
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:53:42 GMT
  With Gordon Brown announcing that the Budget will be held on march 24, the tax experts are dusting off their crystal balls
  

• Ten years on, what have we learnt from the tech bubble?
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:53:29 GMT
  Nothing, it seems, as institutions are still happy to flog worthless ideas in the interests of a quick buck.
  

• Comment: Five ideas for an election-winning budget on March 24
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:59:40 GMT
  Gordon Brown today announced that the Budget will take place in two weeks' time. What might he do to increase Labour's chances of an election victory on May 6?
  

• Standard plans £100m savings drive but cannot confirm jobs are safe
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:58:13 GMT
  (Updated) David Nish, chief executive of Standard Life, said greater use of technology would cut costs but could not confirm there would be no job losses.
  

FT.com - Financial Markets News

• London mid-cap market enlivened by bid hopes
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:26:37 GMT
  Tullett Prebon raced to the top of the mid-cap FTSE 250 index on Wednesday, while Barrett was also boosted on the back of bid speculation
  

• Tentative tone takes hold as investors seek direction
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:35:06 GMT
  Global Markets Overview: FTSE All-World index remains becalmed near six-week highs, with stock investors reluctant to push riskier assets higher without a fresh catalyst
  

• Industrial and chemical stocks gain in flat trade
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:49:25 GMT
  A strong performance by industrial and chemical stocks failed to lift European shares higher on Wednesday
  

• Indian harvest hopes sink sugar prices
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:34:48 GMT
  Sugar prices tumbled on Wednesday, extending the slide to a second session following reports suggesting a better-than-expected outlook for India?s production this season
  

BBC Business News

• British Gas faces strike ballot
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:22:21 GMT
  British Gas workers are to vote in a strike ballot over allegations of bullying by management, and on changes to working conditions.
  

• Airlines offer slots in EU probe
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:16:02 GMT
  British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia offer to give up take off and landing slots in London and New York, say EU watchdogs.
  

• Economic storm not over, says PM
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:57:12 GMT
  Gordon Brown warns of economic storms ahead but vows not to "let you down" as the date of the Budget is announced.
  

• BA strike action talks under way
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:18:36 GMT
  Talks aimed at averting strike action by BA cabin crew are continuing at the TUC, after a deadline was extended.
  

BBC News

• Lost Boys actor Haim dies aged 38
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:28:38 GMT
  Lost Boys actor Corey Haim dies at the age of 38, the Los Angeles coroner's office confirms.
  

• Gang jailed for torturing teenager
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:20:32 GMT
  A Leeds drugs gang are jailed for torturing a 16-year-old with boiling water to force his family to pay a 20,0000 ransom.
  

• Biden steps up pressure on Israel
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:14:12 GMT
  The US vice-president renews criticism of Israel over an East Jerusalem building project and urges bold steps to peace.
  

• Kidnap boy's father returns to UK
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:06:49 GMT
  The father of a British boy kidnapped in Pakistan has returned home against police wishes, the BBC learns.
  

Citywire News

• Online banking fraud up by 14% amid wave of 'phishing' attacks
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:33 GMT
  Online banking fraud rose by 14% to £60m in 2009, while card fraud dropped for the first time in three years.
  

• Ten years after the tech bubble burst, the sector now looks cheap
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:07:57 GMT
  Tech is still only trading on a multiple of 1.1x the market - despite an anticipated MA boom as the new cycle of technology kicks in.
  

• The economy is not yet out of danger, Gordon Brown warns
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:49:21 GMT
  You can trust me, prime minister says, as he unveils a pay freeze for doctors, dentists, and hospital consultants.
  

• Weak manufacturing data throws doubt on pace of the recovery
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:26:40 GMT
  A shock fall in manufacturing data put yet more pressure on the pound.
  

FT.com - Equities

• Industrial and chemical stocks gain in flat trade
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:49:25 +0000
  A strong performance by industrial and chemical stocks failed to lift European shares higher on Wednesday
  

• London mid-cap market enlivened by bid hopes
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:15:07 +0000
  Tullett Prebon raced to the top of the mid-cap FTSE 250 index on Wednesday, while Barrett was also boosted on the back of bid speculation
  

• Nikkei flat as machine stocks gain
  Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:08:01 +0000
  The Tokyo exchange remains flat, with better-than-expected machinery orders helping to offset a drop for embattled carmaker Toyota after an incident involving a Prius in the US
  

• Investors warn EU on private equity rules
  Tue, 9 Mar 2010 22:51:41 +0000
  Europe risks building a protectionist wall between itself and the global private equity industry if plans for a sweeping overhaul of regulation in the sector go ahead, some of the world's biggest institutional investors have warned
  

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