GOLDMAN’S KAFKA OFF TO GREENER PASTURES July 13, 2010 IT’S out of the revolving door for one of Goldman’s chief spinmeisters, Paul Kafka, who’s off to pastures new at rival UBS. I hear Kafka is now on gardening leave after almost four years as Goldman’s European head of corporate comms. He’ll be stepping up to the plate at UBS later in the year, as [...]
Moody’s warns of worse to come as it downgrades Portugal’s credit rating July 13, 2010 MOODY’S Investor Service cut Portugal’s debt rating by two notches yesterday, saying its growth prospects were weak and it might need new austerity measures next year to hit tough fiscal targets. The cut to A1, with a stable outlook, briefly sent the euro lower, but broad market reaction was relatively muted as Moody’s made up [...]
Consumer confidence falls as Budget fuels pessimism on the UK economy July 13, 2010 FEARS about the emergency Budget gave consumer confidence another knock in June, according to the monthly Nationwide survey published today. The overall index of consumer confidence fell for the second month in a row to 63 points, a similar level to 12 months ago. Although the present situations index rose slightly, the expectations index was [...]
US trade gap widens to $42.3bn July 13, 2010 The US trade deficit widened unexpectedly in May, prompting analysts to ratchet back estimates for second quarter economic growth despite signs of increased demand both at home and abroad. The trade gap grew to $42.3bn (£27.9bn), the largest since November 2008, as imports from China soared 12.1 per cent, helping overpower the best month for [...]
OECD: Britain set to flourish July 13, 2010 Britain should build on its strengths and is among the countries best positioned to flourish in an increasingly knowledge-based world economy, providing it gets the policy mix right, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said yesterday in a report, released ahead of meetings today between its director-general Angel Gurria and chancellor George Osborne.
German investor confidence falls July 13, 2010 German analyst and investor sentiment fell in July to its lowest level since April 2009 on concerns of weaker economic growth this year, the key ZEW survey showed yesterday. The monthly forward-looking poll of economic sentiment tumbled to 21.2 from 28.7 in June.
GREECE PASSES KEY BORROWING TEST July 13, 2010 GREECE passed its first borrowing test yesterday since a giant EU/IMF funding deal in May, sending bank stocks and the euro higher after it easily sold €1.63bn (£1.36bn) of six-month T-bills. The debt-ridden country managed to get market funding at a slightly cheaper cost than the five per cent it pays to borrow under the [...]
Revenue gain for Burberry July 13, 2010 BURBERRY yesterday reported a 24 per cent rise in first-quarter underlying revenue. The luxury retailer took £282m, excluding a restructuring at its Spanish arm, in the three months ended June, led by growth in Asia and the rest of Europe. Sales at the group’s retail outlets rose an underlying 16 per cent, including a 10 [...]
Brits ditch foreign travel in recession July 13, 2010 RECESSION-HIT Britons cut back on overseas travel last year, with business trips down by almost a quarter, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Overseas visits fell by 15 per cent in total to 58.6m, the fastest rate of decline seen since the 1970s when foreign travel started to become a more regular feature of [...]
AANALYST VIEWS: IS BURBERRY ON A WINNING PATH? July 13, 2010 KATHARINE WYNNE | INVESTEC “The luxury sector has not done universally well, but Burberry has a lot of sales to tourists from countries like the Japan and the US (boosted by favourable exchange rates which brought more shoppers in). They also do very well with gifting. “ SAM HART | CHARLES STANLEY “Longer term prospects [...]