3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said on Monday that he did not expect British interest rates to return to levels common before the 2008 financial crisis during his lifetime, due partly to the effect of an ageing population.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
Vlieghe, 49, said longer life expectancies and more time spent in retirement had boosted demand for safe retirement assets, pushing down long-run interest rates across developed economies including Britain.
Asked by students at Durham University when interest rates might return to the level of 4% to 5% common before the financial crisis, Vlieghe replied: “Maybe not in my lifetime.”
The U.S. Treasury is due to run down a $1.6 trillion bank account at the Federal Reserve as government spending ramps up in the months ahead - a move some analysts warn may crush short-term money rates further and flood financial markets with cash.
Shares in ASTM jumped 27% on Monday, lifted by a buyout offer from the Italian motorway group's top investor which wants to take the company private and overhaul it.
Creditors refuse to extend deadline on restructuring talks Regional government says it is unable to help (Updates with bankruptcy request)
MADRID, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Spanish engineering and renewables company Abengoa said on Monday it had decided to voluntarily request to start the bankruptcy process after its creditors refused to extend a deadline for negotiating a restructuring agreement.
A proposed restructuring to tackle Abengoa’s 6 billion euro ($7.30 billion) debt mountain has unravelled since the regional government of Andalusia withdrew an offer of 20 million euros in funding as part of the overall deal.
“The Board of Directors . remains committed to seeking alternatives to avoid the non-viability of the subsidiaries that carry out the group’s activity and, thereby, preserve jobs and try to minimize the loss of value,” Abengoa said in a statement to the Spanish stock regulator.
4 Min Read
BRASILIA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian financial markets went into a tailspin on Monday, as investors dumped the country’s currency and stocks, while pushing up interest rates, after President Jair Bolsonaro moved late on Friday to sack the head of state-run oil firm Petrobras after weeks of clashes over fuel price hikes.
The right-wing populist’s intervention in one of Brazil’s most valuable companies, along with a vow to reduce prices in the power sector too, cast growing concern on the government’s commitment to free markets.
Several brokerages downgraded Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, and Bank of America cut Brazilian stocks to ‘marketweight’ in its Latin American portfolio, excluding Petrobras and state power company Eletrobras entirely.