Morning papers: UK break-up will trigger spending race
The morning papers brought to you by Investment Adviser: Tuesday August 14 2012
Gordon Brown warns breaking up UK will lead to ‘race to the bottom’ that would see ordinary people lose out, reports The Telegraph.
The former prime minister said the union between England and Scotland was based on the “pooling and sharing of resources” that meant citizens benefitted from the same welfare state wherever they lived.
Coalition plans housebuilding stimulus
Ministers are preparing to unveil a new package of measures to stimulate the flagging house-building sector next month, in an attempt to help drag Britain out of recession, reports the Financial Times.
Germany still grows in second quarter, France flatlines
Germany posted modest economic growth in the second quarter of the year and France stagnated, official data showed on Tuesday, suggesting the eurozone as a whole contracted over the three months, reports Reuters.
Europe’s largest economy eked out growth of 0.3 per cent over the quarter, marginally beating forecasts, but it is unlikely to be able to defy gravity indefinitely unless decisive action is taken to tackle the currency bloc’s debt crisis.
Julius Baer to buy Merrill Lynch arm
Julius Baer is to buy the non-US wealth management operations of Merrill Lynch, boosting the Swiss private bank’s assets by almost half and netting as much as SFr860m (£534.67m) for Bank of America, which owns the loss-making unit, reports the Financial Times.
Coalition in crisis: Only one in six now believes government will survive until 2015
Public confidence in the Coalition appears to be collapsing, as the number of people who no longer think the Government will survive a full term has doubled in a fortnight as the Lib Dems and Tories continue to squabble, reports The Daily Mail.
House price balance shows biggest fall in a year - RICS
British house prices experienced their most widespread falls for a year in the three months to July, and surveyors do not expect the outlook to improve over the next 12 months, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed on Tuesday, reports Reuters.