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Quick view : Jobless claims fall in US, labour mkt still on mend

The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits fell last week for the first time since April, a reminder that the wounded labor market is still slowly healing.

The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits fell last week for the first time since April, a reminder that the wounded labor market is still slowly healing. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, the labour department said on Thursday. That was spot on the median forecast in a Reuters poll. The government revised the prior week?s figure up to 389,000 from the previously reported 383,000. Prior to last week, claims had risen in four consecutive weeks, adding to concerns over several months of lackluster hiring data. While the country emerged from a deep recession three years ago, the jobless rate last month was 8.2%, well above its long-term historical average.

UK wants safeguards if euro zone forges bank union

Britain will want to ensure safeguards are in place to protect its financial sector if the euro zone moves towards establishing a banking union, British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Osborne also urged the single currency bloc to use its bailout fund to recapitalise Spain?s troubled banks. There is no way that Britain is going to be part of any euro zone banking union, Osborne said. I think Britain will require certain safeguards if there is a full-blown banking union.

UK services PMI posts steady growth

UK service industries unexpectedly maintained their pace of growth in May and employment rose as demand increased. A gauge based on a survey of purchasing managers remained at 53.3 from April, Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said in a report on Thursday in London. The median forecast of 27 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a decline to 52.4. A measure above 50 indicates expansion. Confidence weakened because of concerns related to the euro-area debt crisis, Markit said.

IIF says it?s time to pause inferno of new bank rules

Regulators should pause the inferno of reform initiatives being brought in to make the banking industry safer, as it is hurting lending as banks opt to shrink to meet the changes, the new head of the industry?s leading lobby group said. Douglas Flint, chairman of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and British bank HSBC, said on Thursday problems in the global economy made it an opportune time to consider pausing the amount of new regulations coming in. Speaking at an IIF conference, he said banking markets were becoming more national, leading to less globalisation and more fragmentation of the industry.

Vodafone and Telefonica to spur 4G with shared grid

Vodafone and Telefonica?s O2 announced on Thursday plans to share a network in Britain to improve coverage and speed up the roll-out of a new superfast mobile service at a time of weak consumer spending. The agreement will help O2 and Vodafone, ranked second and third respectively in Britain, compete with Everything Everywhere, which runs the Orange and T-Mobile brands, in the fight to have the best network. This will create two stronger players who will compete with each other and with other operators to bring the benefits of mobile internet services to consumers and businesses across the country, Vodafone UK chief executive Guy Laurence said.

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First published on: 08-06-2012 at 01:24 IST
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