Take home pay still dwarfed by inflation September 8, 2010 Growth in take home pay rose 1.3 per cent in the three months to August compared to just 0.8 per cent in the quarter ending in July, the VocaLink Take Home Pay index will show today. However, with CPI standing at 3.1 per cent in July, pay growth is still dwarfed by inflation. Over the [...]
Surprise fall in German trade September 8, 2010 A SURPRISE fall in exports and near-zero growth in industry output in July yesterday suggested that the German industrial juggernaut may slow somewhat after building up record momentum earlier this year. Data from the Federal Statistics Office showed exports, the main driver in Germany’s rebound, fell by 1.5 per cent from June, while imports shrank [...]
Think-tank wary on UK growth September 8, 2010 BRITAIN’S economic recovery softened in the quarter to August and the pace of growth will decelerate further in the coming months, a leading economic think-tank warned yesterday. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that output only expanded by 0.7 per cent on the previous quarter. The pace of growth may have [...]
A three-way split for MPC September 8, 2010 A THREE-WAY split has emerged in City A.M.’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this month, ahead of the Bank of England’s policy decision scheduled for midday today. Two hawks are sustaining their call for a rate rise while a dove is now pushing for further quantitative easing. Both City A.M. editor Allister Heath and Henderson’s [...]
Oracle to pay ex-HP chief Hurd up to $11m in salary and bonus September 8, 2010 ORACLE has offered its new co-president, former Hewlett-Packard chief Mark Hurd, a hiring package with a bonus of up to $10m (£6.5m) and options potentially worth tens of millions more. Oracle, the world’s third-larges software maker, named Hurd co-president on Monday, a month after he stepped down from HP because of a scandal involving expense [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC September 8, 2010 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “Rates should be raised by 25 basis points as a symbolic hike to show that the MPC is serious about targeting inflation. The economy is growing, albeit slowly, with yesterday’s factory stats further evidence that we won’t suffer a double-dip recession.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Raise by 25 basis points. [...]
STRIP CLUB BOSSES STAKE OUT THEIR TURF September 8, 2010 LOOKS like The Capitalist ruffled a few feathers yesterday with a tale about former Spearmint Rhino managing director Simon Warr setting up a new strip club, Platinum Lace, on his previous employer’s territory in the heart of London. Spearmint Rhino bounded in immediately with a robust defence of its business, which is apparently booming at [...]
Dana battles to stop £1.9bn offer by KNOC September 8, 2010 DANA PETROLEUM is braced for a £1.9bn hostile takeover by Korean National Oil Corps after investors dismissed an ambitious defence document demanding a higher price. Shares in Dana closed almost flat at £18.09, just above the level of state-owned KNOC’s £18 per share offer, indicating shareholders were unmoved by the argument. The board of the [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 8, 2010 STHREE Seymour Pierce upgraded the recruiter to a “buy” from “outperform” ahead of tomorrow’s trading update, with a target price of 330p. The broker notes SThree’s peers have indicated the jobs market is improving. OCADO Shore Capital maintains a “sell” rating on the grocer, with a target selling price of 157p. The broker says Ocado’s [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WILL DANA’S DEFENCE CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE BATTLE September 8, 2010 KEITH MORRIS | EVOLUTION SECURITIES On first reading of the document, the main defence centres upon an independent expert’s valuation of the existing assets at £21.20 per share and the potential for exploration prospects to quadruple reserves by full-year 2012. Like Venture’s defence document against Centrica, though, we believe it will prove futile. DAVID HART [...]