China exports up 48.5pc June 10, 2010 CHINESE exports jumped 48.5 per cent in May compared with the same month last year. The surge has raised concerns that the economy may be overheating and that the country should revalue its currency. Imports rose 48.3 per cent year-on-year, also stronger than expected. In April, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner postponed a report that [...]
Home Retail suffers as TV and video game sales slump June 10, 2010 HOME Retail Group posted a bigger-than-expected drop in first-quarter sales at its catalogue-based Argos stores, hit by a drop in demand for video games and televisions. The group, which also runs the Homebase, said economic conditions were challenging and uncertain but that it was still aiming to deliver flat profits over the full financial year [...]
BAA passenger numbers down after strike and ash cloud June 10, 2010 BAA’s passenger traffic in May dropped compared with last year after being hit by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud and British Airways’ cabin crew industrial action. BAA’s UK airports handled 8.6m passengers in the month, which was a drop of 4.5 per cent on May 2009. Heathrow handled 5.3m passengers – 3.1 per cent down [...]
Top City banks hit by OFT probe June 9, 2010 THE Office of Fair Trading (OFT) will today launch an investigation focusing on the prices investment banks charge for services such as advising companies and underwriting share offers heaping pressure onto an already embattled industry. “We can confirm that we are launching the early stages of a market study into equity underwriting,” an OFT spokesman [...]
US on the warpath over BP June 9, 2010 US-LISTED shares of BP plunged nearly 16 per cent last night, hitting their lowest level since 1996 as political pressure on the company over its handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill mounted and investors worried it might be forced to suspend its dividend. The plunging share price, came amid a growing backlash against [...]
Debt crisis to hurt growth June 9, 2010 PROLONGED uncertainty and turmoil in the Eurozone risk derailing the world economy recovery if heavily-indebted developed countries have to swallow austerity medicine more quickly, the World Bank said yesterday in its latest Global Economic Prospects 2010. While the World Bank expects global GDP growth to be 3.3 per cent in 2010 and 2011, and 3.5 [...]
Populist reaction to BP is dangerous June 9, 2010 THERE is much that is ugly about the BP fiasco. It goes without saying that the firm hasn’t covered itself in glory, that Tony Hayward, its CEO, has suffered from foot in mouth disease and that parts of the US coast are reeling from an en environmental catastrophe. I’ve criticised BP in the past and [...]
Bernanke is still cautious June 9, 2010 FEDERAL Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday the US economic recovery was on a solid footing but cautioned it could be years before the jobs lost during the deep recession of 2008-2009 are restored. While Bernanke said the economy had made an “important transition” to relying less on government support, his emphasis on the struggles [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 9, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BACKLASH OVER INDIAN FLOAT RULES India is facing a growing private sector backlash against a rule change that will lead to a flood of more than $50bn of new shares being listed over three years. There are concerns that the move could damage the country’s stock market and hamper economic growth. The Finance [...]
Virgin and BSkyB appeal ruling June 9, 2010 Virgin Media has appealed against an Ofcom decision forcing BSkyB to charge competitors less for its football coverage, saying the ruling doesn’t go far enough. BSkyB has also appealed the communication watchdog’s decision, saying the regulator “acted unlawfully” in imposing conditions on its programme packages. Virgin said the methods used by Ofcom to calculate the [...]