Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut around 792 jobs and shutter 162 branches following a review of its branch network in England and Wales, the state-backed lender said on Tuesday. RBS, which is more than 70 percent owned by the British taxpayer following a 2007 bailout, said the redundancies and closures were necessary […]
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IF YOU reach the age of 65 in the OECD, you can expect to live for another 19 years or so (more if you are a woman, less if you are a man). If you stop work earlier than 65, and live a bit longer than average, you could easily be retired for 25-30 years, […]
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“THIS port is for the Togolese,” says Sherif Tchedre, a mechanic standing among containers that line the shorefront in Lomé, Togo’s capital. “But it is Bolloré who runs everything.” He thinks little of the port’s French operator, Bolloré Group, or the conglomerate’s eponymous owner-boss, Vincent Bolloré. They do “nothing for Togo”, he says, adding that […]
Read moreThe supply crisis is hitting housing hard, as strong demand quickly eats up what few listings there are. Home shoppers signed 0.5 percent more contracts to buy existing homes in December compared with November, according to a monthly pending home sales index from the National Association of Realtors. This was right in line with expectations. […]
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AT THE start of 2017, just before Donald Trump was inaugurated as president, a survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) found they believed that being positive on the dollar was “the most crowded trade”. It turned out they were right to be cautious. On a trade-weighted basis, the currency has […]
Read moreMortgage rates moved higher for the second straight week, and the lending community is just beginning to feel the effects. Total mortgage application volume fell 2.6 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted report. Volume remains 6.6 percent higher than the same week one year ago. Applications to refinance a home […]
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There’s a risk of market turbulence, but it’s unlikely to hit until 2019, says Santander chairman
Plans by central bankers to reduce monetary stimulus could create market shocks, but these are unlikely to happen in 2018, the chairman of Banco Santander told CNBC Wednesday. As global growth picks up and inflation recovers from its crisis levels, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve have started […]
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We'll see up to a 15 percent correction in 2018, Swiss bank CEO says
A market correction is well overdue and investors should expect a price drop of up to 15 percent this year, Julius Baer Chief Executive Bernhard Hodler told CNBC Wednesday. “Generally I think we will see sooner or later a correction — hopefully it will be like a 5, 10, 15 percent correction, another very large […]
Read moreFrench coastguards are searching for the chief executive of a leading surfwear company after his boat was discovered washed ashore on a beach in the country’s south-west. Pierre Agnes, CEO of Boardriders, Quicksilver‘s parent company, set sail early on Tuesday but did not return. After the 54-year-old’s boat was discovered run aground in Hossegor, a […]
Read moreEuropean stocks are set to open mixed on Wednesday morning, as investors await the release of economic data and corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 is expected to start 4 points lower at 7,592; while the DAX is seen up 40 points at 13,244 and the CAC 40 is set to open 10 points higher at […]
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