Shareholding slumps among UK individuals January 28, 2010 SHARE ownership among British individuals has fallen to an all-time low while foreign investors’ stakes in the stockmarket have risen, official figures published yesterday show. At the end of 2008, individual investors owned just 10.2 per cent of the stockmarket, according to the Office for National Statistics. The number represents a decline from 12.8 per [...]
Business must get prepared for new bribery laws January 28, 2010 BRIBERY and corruption is big business. Just ask a lawyer. With anti-bribery legislation passing through Parliament, a raft of corporate investigations, litigation support and crisis management specialists are gearing up for a flood of new cases in the City. Among these, the most colourful must surely be Daniel Nardello, chief executive of Nardello & Co, [...]
Brewin Dolphin gets a boost as positive update cheers investors January 28, 2010 STOCKBROKER and wealth manager Brewin Dolphin announced an 11.5 per cent rise in first quarter income to £56.9m yesterday, slightly below market expectations. The Smithfield-based investment house saw a year-on-year rise of 5.9 per cent in funds under management for the three months to the end of December, however. The results pushed Brewin Dolphin shares [...]
US data boost recovery talk January 28, 2010 New orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods edged higher in December and the number of workers filing applications for jobless aid fell last week, indicating the economy remains on a recovery path. The US Commerce Department yesterday said durable goods orders rose 0.3 per cent last month, held back by a surprise drop in civilian [...]
UK consumers are at their most confident in two years January 28, 2010 CONSUMERS are at their most confident in almost two years despite Britain’s flagging growth prospects, according to a leading index published today. The GfK/NOP consumer confidence index rose two points to -17, which is 20 points higher than it was this time last year. Consumers are also feeling happier about the economic situation over the [...]
WHAT DOES THE FED’S RATES DECISION MEAN FOR THE US POLICY OUTLOOK? January 28, 2010 BRIAN FABBRI | BNP PARIBAS While the FOMC left the federal funds rate at 0–0.25 per cent, this was the first time since emergency conditions were set in place that a formal dissent has been made. Moreover, the text exposed important nods in the direction of a more confident view of the economic recovery than [...]
Jump in European sentiment builds January 28, 2010 ECONOMIC sentiment in the eurozone strengthened much more than expected in January and December while German unemployment rose less than forecast this month, data showed, pointing to continued economic recovery. A monthly survey by the European Commission (EC) showed the economic sentiment indicator for the 16-country area rose to 95.7 points — well above the [...]
Arden in £1m bonus payout as profits rise January 28, 2010 ARDEN Partners, the publicly-quoted stockbroker, is paying out up to £1m in bonuses after reporting profits of £2.2m, up from £2.1m in the previous year. Arden still does not know whether it will be caught by the government’s recent supertax on bank bonuses, which it estimates would cost it a maximum of £200,000. It will [...]
Trademark claim for Apple’s iPad January 28, 2010 APPLE could face a legal battle over its decision to name its new tablet computer; the iPad. Europe’s largest chipmaker STMicroelectronics trademarked the name for its proprietary semiconductor technology almost a decade ago, and has been using the name since. STMicro said yesterday it was “looking into the situation.” The news came as it emerged [...]
Consumer giants beat expectations as branded product sales increase January 28, 2010 Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive boosted sales of their brand name products in the last few months, convincing consumers to spend a little more with a bigger investment in advertising. A tentative recovery in consumer spending helped both consumer goods leaders post better-than-expected results. Profit at P&G, the maker of Tide laundry detergent and Pampers [...]