How shareholders are keeping faith in Carpetright April 1, 2014 Poor old Carpetright was in a frayed state last week when a third profit warning by the group in six months sent shares down five per cent from 586p to 556.5p. The retailer, which is in the hands of its chairman and founder Lord Harris, after chief executive Darren Shapland quit last year, bemoaned that [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 1, 2014 Stocks across the globe have been given a boost after positive remarks by Janet Yellen yesterday on the Fed’s attitude towards a rate hike – soothing worries one would come earlier than expected. Futures point towards a positive open, as markets continue the moderate gains seen in the first quarter. Investors will also have the [...]
How the EU’s relaxing of visa rules could bring €130bn of gains April 1, 2014 The European Commission has proposed a host of measures to liberalise visa rules for non-EU nationals that could lead to €130bn in direct spending and 1.3m jobs over the next five years. The Commission believes its package of reforms will boost tourism and bring researchers, students, artists and other professionals to European shores. Demand for [...]
Here’s how academics are predicting job losses using Twitter April 1, 2014 Estimating economic data accurately is notoriously hard to do, but a team of economists may be making that process easier, using Twitter. They've developed a helpful new forecasting method, as described in their new paper, "Using social media to measure labor market flows". The study does what it says on the tin, examining the usefulness [...]
Greece bailout gets seal of approval from Eurozone finance ministers April 1, 2014 Long-delayed bailout aid for Greece has today been agreed on by Eurozone finance ministers, reports the FT. The deal, which will see €8.3bn divided into three payments, ends a six-month standoff between Athens and its international leaders, says the paper. It comes in the nick of time; the country needs to pay a €9bn bond [...]
UK manufacturing is staying strong, despite 8-month low April 1, 2014 Despite the upturn in UK manufacturing remaining solid, activity fell to an eight-month low in March. Markit showed a reading of 55.3, underlining the cooling of growth from the highs seen last year. February saw a reading of 56.2, and analysts had expected a reading of 56.9 last month. “It was always extremely unlikely that [...]
Government hits back over Royal Mail privatisation April 1, 2014 The government has defended the way in which Royal Mail was privatised last year. Ministers have taken to the airwaves after the National Audit Office (NAO) published a report concluding that the government undervalued Royal Mail at the expense of the taxpayer. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: The department was very keen to [...]
Aberdeen shares jump on further cost cuts April 1, 2014 This morning, Aberdeen Asset Management confirmed it’s completed its acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) for £550m. As part of the sale, the group is issuing 125.85m new ordinary shares to Lloyds Banking Group, 108m of which have been issued today, plus a deferred top-up payment of £39.4m, which is payable at the end [...]
German unemployment falls by 12,000 April 1, 2014 The headline unemployment rate of Europe's motor has fallen again. With unemployment dropping by a seasonally adjusted 12,000 in March, that takes the overall rate of unemployment to 6.7 percent. Analysts had been expecting to see 6.8 per cent unemployment reported this month. Last month's estimate of unemployment has been revised lower, down from 6.8 [...]
ICAP revenue falls as market activity slows April 1, 2014 UK broker ICAP has announced a fall in revenue for February and March of 14 per cent. Despite the fall in revenue the company believes it will achieve results in line with market expectations, which range from £266m to £280m. The consensus is £273m. ICAP saw declines in overall trading activity levels in the Global [...]