News in brief: Pound hits record low against euro

Pound hits record low against euro

The pound today plummeted to a historic low against the euro, before staging a slight recovery after the Bank of England slashed interest rates by a further 1 percenatge point. 

The pound dropped to €1.1499 - the lowest it's been since the creation of the single currency nine years ago - before rising marginally to €1.1561. It also fell to its lowest level for almost seven years against the dollar and its lowest point for more than 13 years against the yen.  

Oil at four-year low

Oil slipped to its lowest point for almost four years on Thursday on ongoing fears over falling demand.

Prices dropped below $46 a barrel in their fourth consecutive day of losses, down around 16% from the previous week and more than $100 from their all-time high of $147 back in July.

France plans €20 billion stimulus

France is planning a €20 billion stimulus package to support its car industry and bolster the housing and household spending sectors as it teeters on the brink of recession.

Unemployment is predicted to hit more than 8% in 2009 as the forecast for the French economy worsens. 

New car sales slump

New car sales fell for the seventh consecutive month in November, down by more than a third on the previous yearn to 100,333, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.  

"November has been another difficult month for the motor industry and whilst some consumers may have delayed their purchases to take advantage of the recent VAT reductions, overall demand continues to fall," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive.

More financial job cuts

A further 5,300 jobs have been cut at Swiss bank Credit Suisse, mostly affecting its investment banking division.

Around 1,800 people have already been laid off so far this year as the bank wrote off billions of assets due to bad loans. It suffered a net loss of around three billion Swiss francs in the two months to the end of November.

Meanwhile, Japanese financial services firm Nomura says it is slashing as many as 1,000 jobs in London following its purchase of parts of Lehman Brothers.