London Metal Exchange keeps open-outcry trading ring June 23, 2014 The London Metal Exchange has decided to keep its open-outcry trading ring, making it the last in Europe and one of the few remaining exchanges in the world to continue using the system of hand signals and spoken trades, along with its electronic trading system. A review was launched following its takeover by Hong Kong [...]
Factories report fast growth in US as economy lifts June 23, 2014 US MANUFACTURERS are reporting the fastest expansion in four years, adding to the perception that the country’s growth is increasingly picking up strength. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector hit 57.5, the highest seen since April 2010. Output, new orders, employment and backlogs of work all increased from May, and picked up speed. Cost [...]
Bottom Line: AA stalls, but this is no scrapheap stock June 23, 2014 IT’S ALL rather manic in the markets right now. A year that started at break-neck speed has been run off track by a series of IPO flops, leaving folk on the buy-side mightily unimpressed. And as the road rage intensifies, investors are directing much of their anger at private equity sellers. Such a toxic and [...]
Shire looks to double sales to $10bn by 2020 June 23, 2014 SHIRE yesterday argued strongly in favour of maintaining its status as an independent company, as it outlined its defence against Abbvie’s recent takeover attempts. The firm said it would continue to offer solid shareholder returns, with the potential to double sales revenue to over $10bn by 2020, and stressed that Abbvie had undervalued the company. [...]
Oracle splashes out on Micros June 23, 2014 IT GIANT Oracle yesterday said it has sealed a deal to buy retail and hospitality software maker Micros for around $5.3bn (£3.1bn), in a transaction expected to close during the second half of 2014. Micros sells internet connected cash registers along with software and technical services. The deal is Oracle’s second largest since it bought [...]
Euro periphery powers growth as France flops June 23, 2014 THE PERIPHERAL euro economies are growing at a faster pace than Germany for the first time in eight years, as French businesses hint that the country’s weak growth has stopped entirely. Figures from Markit’s Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in June suggest that the currency bloc’s pace of growth remains sluggish. June’s figure of 52.8, [...]
Eurozone to hold off interest rate increase until at least 2016 June 23, 2014 European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has hinted that policymakers would likely not hike rates for at least another 18 months. “We have prolonged banks’ access to unlimited liquidity up to the end of 2016. That is a signal. Our programme in support of bank lending to businesses will continue for four years,” the ECB [...]
Euro official warns powers to halt bubbles may be too weak June 23, 2014 POWERS to control banks and stop bubbles wrecking the economy may be too slow or too weak to work, top European Central Bank official Vitor Constancio warned yesterday. Regulators including the Bank of England and the ECB hope to use macroprudential policies to manage the economy, rather than relying on the interest rates alone. They hope [...]
Tight mortgage rules slow down lending growth June 23, 2014 TOUGH new affordability checks have knocked mortgage lending, Bank of England data showed yesterday. Lending is still growing, but at a slightly slower pace after the mortgage market review (MMR) rules came into force in April. The number of banks reporting rising demand for prime mortgages outweighed those reporting a fall by a margin of 27.5 [...]
Partnership Assurance cuts 100 jobs following annuity overhaul June 23, 2014 INSURANCE group Partnership is to cut 100 jobs, one in five of its current workforce, in a bid to cut costs following the government’s overhaul of the annuities market. The company is trying to reduce its running costs by £21m, about a fifth of its annual operating costs, after chancellor George Osborne announced that Britons [...]