Adam Posen, external member of the monetary policy committee at the Bank of England, is stepping down. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian Adam Posen, the Bank of England arch-dove, is to step down from the Bank’s interest rate setting committee at the end of the summer, undermining hopes of further monetary easing to bolster [...]
François Hollande, France’s newly elected president. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP 11.15am ET/4.15pm BST: Which development will have more long-term consequences for Europe: the election of François Hollande or Greece’s move for the exits of the eurozone? Matthew Yglesias says despite his campaign rhetoric, Hollande may find that his hands are tied if he seeks a major [...]
A Greek Orthodox priest leaves a polling booth to cast his vote in Athens, in an election that threw up a destabilising outcome. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters 3.53pm: Before I finally go, here’s another summary of today’s main developments. Markets have been rocked by Socialist François Hollande’s election victory in France, coupled with the inconclusive result [...]
MG Rover was bought by Shanghai Automotive Industry in 2007. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA Here is a list of the well-known British companies and services to have fallen into Chinese hands: 1. Weetabix: 60% share in the breakfast cereal maker bought on Wednesday in a deal worth £1.2bn by Bright Foods. 2. Gieves and Hawkes: famous [...]
Alison Carnwath’s presence on the boards of a number of firms and her length of tenure at Man has concerned investors. Photograph: Tom Stockill/Camera Press/Camera Press Alison Carnwath, a high-profile serial director with a seat in the boardrooms of a number of major companies, has become a focus of discontent among investors after suffering an [...]
A social housing scheme in Brinnington, Stockport. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian The attempt by the London borough of Newham to rehouse homeless families in Stoke is a reflection of a broken housing policy. The cap on housing benefit will inevitably lead to displacement of moderately paid and poor people from inner cities, where [...]
A Walmart store in the Mexican capital. The retailer is aggressively looking into allegations that it bribed officials throughout the country. Photograph: Reuters Walmart is investigating claims that its executives hushed up an internal report that found it paid $ 24m (£14.8m) in bribes to Mexican officials. The world’s largest retailer said it was aggressively [...]
Employment minister Chris Grayling with apprentice chefs at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Westminster this week. Photograph: Geoff Caddick/PA Unemployment figures just fell by 35,000. Good! “A step in the right direction,” said Chris Grayling, the employment minister. But his press release made no mention of one important fact. Indeed, his press release bore all [...]
Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy could find himself having to intervene in regions run by his own People’s party. Photograph: Europa Press via Getty Images The conservative Spanish government of Mariano Rajoy expects to take direct financial control of at least one of the country’s ailing regional governments as early as May, according to government sources [...]
Barack Obama greets an audience at the White House forum on women and the economy in the Eisenhower executive office building in Washington. Photograph: Haraz N Ghanbari/AP The economy added only 120,000 jobs in March – down from the rate of more than 200,000 in each of the preceding three months. The rate of unemployment [...]
