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 [...]
Luminar sees its sales crash July 13, 2010 Shares in Luminar tumbled by 13 per cent at one stage yesterday before closing 4.4 per cent lower at 11p after the nightclubs operator said sales in the first 19 weeks of the year were down 19.9 per cent. Luminar blamed the World Cup for the poor performance. The company behind the Oceana and Liquid [...]
Northern Foods revenues slide July 13, 2010 Food manufacturer Northern Foods said sales fell in the first quarter of its fiscal year, reflecting its decision to pull out of low margin contracts. The company, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said yesterday comparable sales were down 1.6 per cent in [...]
Intel reports best quarter for 42 years July 13, 2010 INTEL yesterday reported second-quarter revenue of $10.8bn (£7.1bn), describing it as the firm’s “best quarter” ever in its 42-year history. Intel, which is the world’s largest chipmaker, said revenue in the three months ended 26 June totalled $10.8bn, compared with $8bn in the year-earlier period and the $10.25bn expected by analysts. The company posted operating [...]
Telefonica gets tough on PT July 13, 2010 02 owner Telefonica will seek international arbitration if it does not reach a deal this week with Portugal Telecom (PT) in a tug-of-war over ownership of Brazil’s biggest mobile phone company. Telefonica is understood to have hardened its stance after weekend talks with PT failed to bear fruit. The Portuguese government used a “golden share” [...]