David notes the passing of Australia's debt ceiling barely two months after it arrived. Ireland's biggest bank began the sale of €540m new shares as part of a fundraising designed to pay back €1.8bn of state funds injected by Dublin during its financial crisis. Bank of Ireland said that the money would be used to redeem €537m in preference shares held by the state as a result of a bank recapitalisation in 2009 (Financial Times). A Bank of Japan policy board member on Wednesday played down the need for additional easing measures. Takehiro Sato claimed that an incremental step could cripple its continuing efforts to end years of deflation through a massive easing program launched in April, (Wall Street Journal). European Union antitrust authorities are set to hit a group of major banks with heavy fines as soon as Wednesday for allegedly colluding to rig interbank lending rates, people familiar with the matter said. The penalties could total several billion euros, (Wall Street Journal). Tesco reported a fall in UK sales during the third quarter, as the food retailer under pressure from discount competitors said that underlying sales fell in every country in which it operates. The deepening sales decline will do nothing to ease the pressure on Philip Clarke, chief executive, and Laurie McIlwee, finance director, who have come under scrutiny from some shareholders, (Financial Times). Standard Chartered issued a profit warning, saying that operating profits at the emerging markets focused bank would decline for the first time in a decade. The bank said on Wednesday that operating profit in consumer banking would fall at least 10 per cent due to South Korean losses after it took a $1bn writedown in the country related to personal loans (Financial Times). A tax dispute could force Finnish phonemaker Nokia to excise its Indian operations from its pending sale to Microsoft. A Finnish government minister has warned that the group could also close an India manufacturing plant, following a dispute with the Indian authorities (Financial Times). Britain's services sector is continuing to grow strongly and cost pressures are starting to build, according to a survey. The Markit purchasing managers" index survey of services companies - a sector that accounts for almost 80 per cent of the UK economy - fell from 62.5 in October to 60 in November, (Financial Times). This entry was posted by Dan McCrum on Wednesday December 4th, 2013 10:41.