UK is in need of a nuclear boost August 5, 2009 A report commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that the UK needs to more than double the amount of electricity generated by nuclear power, as well as boosting renewables, energy efficiency and gas storage to guarantee energy security. Nuclear power should provide between 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the UK’s [...]
Google set to issue $106.5m August 5, 2009 Google said yesterday it will issue $106.5m (£68m) in stock to acquire On2 Technologies, as the search engine giant looks to shore up its video operations. On2 makes video-compression technology, which allows for the quick transfer of large video files across the Web. The group also has software that helps allows high-definition video playback to [...]
Toyota to make ‘affordable’ car August 5, 2009 The president and chief executive of Toyota, Akio Toyoda said yesterday that the carmaker had plans to build a “fun-to-drive” affordable sports car, to be launched within the next few years. Toyoda said the company is making the move in an effort to inject the enthusiasm from the race track into the vehicles.
Nine-month high for sterling August 5, 2009 The pound jumped against the dollar to a nine-month high of $1.7039, after industrial output recorded a surprise increase. Strong economic data helped Sterling, while the dollar weakened on worse than expected US job losses.
Positive data raises hopes for growth August 5, 2009 A BATCH of better-than-expected economic data yesterday raised the chances that the UK economy could grow in the third quarter. Coming ahead of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision tomorrow, the CIPS/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a rise to 53.2 in July from 51.6 and above consensus expectations of 51.8. [...]
US factory orders rise in June August 5, 2009 NEW orders received by US factories unexpectedly rose in June, government data showed yesterday, advancing for a third straight month and raising cautious hopes of a turnaround for the recession-hit economy. The Commerce Department said factory orders climbed 0.4 per cent in June after increasing by a revised 1.1 per cent in May, previously reported [...]
Eurozone retail sales fall, as ECB set to hold rates August 5, 2009 EuroZONE retail sales fell unexpectedly in June, data showed yesterday, pointing to weak consumer demand and posing a question mark over how quickly the economy will emerge from recession. Retail trade in the 16 countries using the euro fell 0.2 per cent on the month, European Union statistics office Eurostat said — worse than the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 5, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES FERREXPO SEES IRON MARKET SHIFTFerrexpo signalled that iron ore demand was shifting back to Europe after being heavily reliant on China, as the Ukranian miner unveiled an 81 per cent drop in first-half profits. Ferrexpo reacted to the collapse in demand from steelmakers in Austria by selling iron ore pellets to China, incurring [...]
Cisco systems profits nosedive August 5, 2009 Computer firm Cisco Systems last night said it saw its quarterly profits dive by 46 per cent as sales declined. For the three months to 25 July Cisco made a net profit of $1.1bn (£647m), compared with $2bn in the same period a year earlier. The firm said it was too soon to call a [...]
CITY AM SHADOW MPC August 5, 2009 ALLISTER HEATH CITY A.M.The recession is coming to an end, even though money supply growth remains weak. The Bank should suspend its quantitative easing operations for the time being. SIMON WARD HENDERSON NEW STAR“Await more evidence before deciding on a further expansion of QE. The latest broad money numbers were disappointing but financial market behaviour [...]