Editor's Picks
Strong yen adds to Japanese giants' woes
Friday 15 May 2009
While many UK exporters have been benefiting from the strength in the US dollar, Japan’s big electronics companies have not been so fortuitous.
Green shoots take root in housing market
Friday 15 May 2009
The future is looking much brighter for homeowners as the ‘green shoots’ of a recovery in the housing market continued to emerge this week.
Vodafone targets holidaymakers in price war
Friday 15 May 2009
Tens of thousands of Vodafone customers will be able to leave their mobile phones on while on holiday this summer without having to worry about paying exorbitant charges for receiving a phone call.
M&S cuts dividend as profits fall 40%
Friday 15 May 2009
Marks & Spencer is to cut its final dividend by a third after the clothes and food retailer saw a sharp drop in pre-tax profits.While sales in the year to March 28 were up by 0.4% from the previous year, they fell by 5.9% without the impact of new store openings and pre-tax profits fell to £706.2m from £1.13bn.
Barclays up on $10bn BGI sale talk
Friday 15 May 2009
Shares in Barclays jumped on reports that the banking giant is considering offers worth around $10bn (£6.5bn) for its asset management arm Barclays Global Investors. Potential bidders for the BGI division include US money manager BlackRock and Bank of New York Mellon, according to press reports. Barclays confirmed that it has received a number of expressions of interest
Ladbrokes profit slumps over a third
Friday 15 May 2009
Punters did well at the Cheltenham Festival in March, but that was bad news for bookmaker Ladbrokes which saw profits plunge 34% in the first four months of 2009. It blamed the profit slump on abnormal gross win margin in March, increased free bets and unfavourable cost phasing in eGaming against the previous year.
Sony posts first loss in 14 years
Thursday 14 May 2009
Electronics giant Sony posted its first annual loss in 14 years as it was hit by a massive drop in sales and a stronger yen.
Rio Tinto 'committed' to Chinalco deal
Thursday 14 May 2009
Rio Tinto, the world’s third-largest miner, has received clearance from an American investment body that keeps its $19.5bn (£13bn) fundraising with China’s Chinalco on track.
Irish Life sees "turn" in UK housing
Thursday 14 May 2009
Irish Life saw a fall in its UK mortgage arrears in April, adding that the corner may have turned for UK bad debts and that provisioning for its UK book will peak in 2009.
Pru sales slip, but bonds give boost
Wednesday 13 May 2009
Sales fell by 5% at insurer Prudential during the first quarter following a sharp drop in business in Asia.
Bank of England predicts "slow and protracted" recovery
Wednesday 13 May 2009
The Bank of England has damped down talk of an economic recovery, suggesting it will take longer than previously thought as it cut its projections for the UK economy this year. In its latest quarterly inflation report, the Bank forecast the UK economy would decline by 4.5% in 2009 with a full recovery only starting to come though at the back end of 2010. Growth is tipped to reach 2.5% by 2011.
Green shoots get L&G excited
Wednesday 13 May 2009
With the ‘green shoots’ of a recovery starting to emerge, Legal & General Investment Management has stuck its neck out and predicted the FTSE 100 will rally another 9% this year, although it'll be a "bumpy ride".
Pub groups reject MPs' reform proposals
Wednesday 13 May 2009
Pub groups Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns have rejected calls by MPs for reform of the system in which pub tenants have to buy their beer from landlords.
Intel hit with record €1.06bn competition fine
Wednesday 13 May 2009
The European Commission has slapped computer chip maker Intel Corp. with a record €1.06bn fine for violating competition rules. It also ordered Intel to “cease the illegal practices immediately to the extent that they are still ongoing.” The regulators said the group abused its dominant market position by engaging in illegal anticompetitive practices
Petra's blue diamond fetches record $9.5m
Wednesday 13 May 2009
A rare blue diamond has set a new world record price per carat in the midst of the global recession when it was sold in Geneva on Tuesday.
Sainsbury's gets boost from budget brand
Wednesday 13 May 2009
Strong demand for its ‘basics’ range has helped supermarket giant J Sainsbury deliver better than expected full year profit. Underlying profit for the year to 21 March leapt 11.3% to £543m, ahead of the £527m predicted, while a 6% hike in revenue, excluding VAT, to £18.9bn was in line with forecasts. Like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, but including VAT, rose 4.5%
Oil climbs above $60 a barrel
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Continued optimism that the world economy is on the mend has helped lift the price of a barrel of crude oil above $60. Light, sweet crude for June delivery hit $60.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, almost double its level in January. Oil prices have moved in tandem with a global rally in other commodities and equities, as the impression that the worst of the downturn is over gains ground.
UK unemployment soars to 2.22m
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Another 244,000 people have lost their jobs between January and March, taking unemployment up to 2.22m, official figures showed today. The jobless rate jumped from 6.3% to 7.1%, the biggest quarterly rise Britain has seen since 1981. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the figures a day early after some of the information was accidentally released.
Punch rejects pub referral call
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Pub group Punch Taverns has moved quickly to reject calls by MPs for a referral of the pub tied house system, expressing disappointment with key findings of the Business and Enterprise Committee report.
Compass profit jumps 41%
Tuesday 12 May 2009
Catering giant Compass Group reported a 41% rise in half-year profit and expects trends in the first half to continue into the second.
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