Members of the Budgets Committee decided on Monday to postpone their vote on the financing of €1 billion in food aid for the developing countries planned for 2008, a move that would have required an amendment to this year’s budget. They instead accepted a proposal by the Council presidency to "seek an overall solution", not restricted to 2008. This will be the subject of negotiations between the two arms of the budgetary authority on 21 November.
The Monster Employment Index UK fell by eight points in September to reach a level of 159. This is the fourth consecutive decrease and the first time that the Index has shown a year-on-year decline. The Index is now at its lowest level since April 2007. Hiring fell the most in the environment, architecture and urbanism; and HR sectors but significantly fewer offerings were also noted in banking, finance and insurance.
The European Central Bank (ECB) publishes its annual report on EU banking structures. The report, which has been published every year since 2002, reviews the main structural developments in the EU banking sector in 2007 and the first half of 2008.
In August 2008 compared with July 2008, seasonally adjusted industrial production grew by 1.1% in the euro area (EA15) and by 0.5% in the EU27. In July production fell by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.
Though U.S. CMBS servicers resolved fewer loans in 2007, more of those loans incurred a loss and at a higher severity than in the prior year, according to the latest annual CMBS Loss Study from Fitch Ratings.
France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria committed 1.3 trillion euros ($US1.8 trillion) to guarantee bank loans and take stakes in lenders, racing to prevent the collapse of the financial system.
Fitch Ratings states that near-term risks have increased considerably for Ukrainian banks as a combination of global financial market turmoil, worsening macroeconomic fundamentals and political uncertainty have resulted in deposit outflow, tighter domestic money markets and exchange rate volatility.
The Small Business Research Board (SBRB) Manufacturing Industry Small Business Confidence Index (M-SBCI) decreased to 30 during the second quarter of 2008, a decline of 11.66 points (31.3%) from the 43.66 recorded in the first quarter of 2008.
Consumers are now making larger down payments for vehicles when car shopping because of the tightening credit crunch. Cash-strapped consumers struggling with the current economic slide are finding it harder to shop for a vehicle because of the larger down payments required.
RSA, The Security Division of EMC announced the findings of its latest insider threat survey, conducted among attendees at industry events in North America and Latin America in the spring and summer of 2008.
