A new phase in the breast cancer battle?

Published By Datamonitor

A regulatory irony

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A slow rollout of EMV for US credit cards may benefit the prepaid sector

United Nations Federal Credit Union has launched the first credit card in the US market to feature globally valid EMV. Some issuers may well follow suit in the near term, but the process is likely to be slow given the general apathy towards EMV in the market, and the delay could allow prepaid travel cards to further differentiate themselves in the market.

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A Spanish offshore tax amnesty will have to be very lenient to encourage uptake

As part of Spain's tough new austerity package, the government has announced plans to launch an offshore tax amnesty. Such amnesties have been highly successful in other Western European countries such as the UK and Italy, but Spain will have to work hard to encourage wealthy individuals back into the struggling domestic banking sector.

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A storm is brewing in the East despite temporary gas truce

The January 2006 Russia-Ukraine gas deal has been temporarily extended to the autumn; a temporary truce largely driven by Russia's position as chair of the G8. There are two events on the horizon with potentially serious implications for the reliability of gas supplies to Europe: Yulia Tymoshenko's appointment as Ukrainian prime minister, and Turkmenistan's decision to hike gas prices to Russia.

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A strengthened financial services compensation scheme comes at a price

The UK's Financial Services Authority has called for the substantial strengthening of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which guarantees savings up to GBP50,000 in the event of a deposit taker collapsing. Although this is good news for depositors, the cost to financial institutions will be steep, which will hit them hard, particularly at a time when IT expenditure has been severely cut.

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A time bomb: China's wealth management products

In China, investments in wealth management products have soared in recent years. However, these products' underlying assets are often linked to high-risk real estate investments, which means that in the event of an economic slowdown the risk may not be systematic, but defaults, especially among smaller lenders, are likely.

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A total of 4.8 million Lloyds customers are to be moved to The Co-operative, but will any refuse?

Being transferred to The Co-operative Bank will likely mean that people will not be able to use their existing online and mobile banking facilities, and this may be enough to persuade some customers to stick with Lloyds.

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A tough Christmas beckons for retailers, but the worst may already be over

There is no doubt that 2005 has been a dreadful year on the high street and as the festive season approaches, most retailers are extremely cautious about their prospects. However, while the economic news has been highly discouraging for those retailers awaiting an upturn in their fortunes, according to retail specialists Verdict there may soon be light at the end of the tunnel ...

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A windfall tax on the UK energy industry is unlikely to prove beneficial

Upward pressures on UK wholesale gas and power prices are being driven by strained supply and demand fundamentals. Imposing a windfall tax on the UK energy industry is unlikely to resolve this issue whereas increased incentives for energy investment in UK gas storage facilities would go some way towards achieving that aim.

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