Portugal has issued its first new government bonds since requesting an international bailout two years ago, in a heavily-oversubscribed offer of 10-year debt that raised €3bn, reports the Financial Times.
Tuesday’s syndicated issue was a crucial milestone in the crisis-hit eurozone country’s bid to regain full access to international debt markets ahead of its planned exit in June 2014 from a three-year bailout programme.
UK retailers suffered sales drop in April, BRC report shows
Retailers suffered a 2.2 per cent drop in sales last month compared with a year ago, thanks to the timing of Easter and wintry weather, according to industry figures, reports the Guardian
The British Retail Consortium’s three-month total growth average, which irons out the distorting effect of Easter falling in April last year and March this year, was 2.6 per cent. That was a slower pace of growth than in the three months to February and March and the BRC said a recovery in consumer spending remained elusive.
Government needs to be clear on its tax message, says CBI
British companies are feeling “schizophrenic” as a result of mixed messaging from politicians over their tax affairs, according to the CBI, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The business lobby group says the Government’s pro-enterprise drive, including cutting the corporation tax rate from 28 per cent to 20 per cent by 2015, is being muddied by its rhetoric on what companies pay.
Tips from Wall St hedge fund gurus fail to reward faithful
Advice from the gurus of Wall Street may be rather less valuable than their fans would like to believe. Investors who bought on the basis of top tips from one of New York’s most celebrated hedge fund conferences last year spectacularly failed to beat the market, reports the Financial Times.
The Ira Sohn Investment conference held at New York’s Lincoln Center brings together the leading lights of the hedge fund community to share market insights as a way of raising money for cancer research.
Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevêdo wins WTO leadership battle
Brazil’s Roberto Azevêdo has emerged as the new director-general of the World Trade Organisation after seeing off Herminio Blanco of Mexico, the favoured candidate of the US and EU, according to officials familiar with the contest, reports the Financial Times.
Both Latin American rivals coveted the WTO position as a means to elevate their countries’ influence and cement their status as rising powers.
TUC warns of ‘lost decade’ as IMF arrives to scrutinise UK economy
International Monetary Fund officials arrive in London today for their annual health check of Britain’s economy as the government faces a fresh warning its austerity drive is causing a “lost decade of growth”, reports the Guardian.
Echoing the IMF’s recent warning that George Osborne, the chancellor, needed to ease up on austerity cuts in the face of a stagnant economy, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has argued that the UK is being left behind in the global recovery.
