US housing starts hit record low May 19, 2009 New US residential building fell to its lowest level since 1959 last month, signalling that the stricken housing market could have further to fall. The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 12.8 per cent to an annual rate of 458,000 units last month, the lowest since records began in January 1959.
Altria sticks by earnings forecast May 19, 2009 Altria Group, maker of Marlboro cigarettes and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco, confirmed its 2009 earnings forecast yesterday, following its annual shareholders meeting. The company said it still expects 2009 earnings of $1.70 per share to $1.75 per share from continuing operations, excluding 23 cents per share in one-off charges.
Shell and Next hit by angry shareholders May 19, 2009 SHELL and Next’s Annual General Meetings (AGMs) set the stage for a summer of discontent yesterday, as shareholders voiced concern over their companies’ remuneration policies. Almost 60 per cent of investors at oil giant Shell voted against the company’s executive pay scheme, while a disgruntled 17 per cent at Next came out against the firm. [...]
Businesses back BA tie-ups May 19, 2009 SUPPORT came for flag carrier British Airways (BA) yesterday, after Sir Richard Branson hit out against the group’s intended tie-up with American Airlines (AA) and Iberia. Branson, who owns Virgin Atlantic airlines, had said a merger between BA and AA would create a “monster monopoly” of airline groups, which would lock out competition, and muscle [...]
Oil hits six month high on hopes of a US recovery May 19, 2009 OIL prices hit a six-month high yesterday, as the cost of a barrel hit $60 (£48), on hopes that the US economy was on its way to recovery. US crude rose as high as $60.05, while London Brent crude went up to $59.22, although both later dropped back. Earlier this week, oil prices were sharply [...]
Ferrexpo trades well in spite of pricing pressures May 19, 2009 FERREXPO, the Ukrainian iron ore producer, said yesterday it was trading profitably, despite spot prices remaining under pressure. The London-listed company also advised shareholders to vote against a proposal to appoint two members to the board from its new shareholder which has a stake of around 10 per cent. “Ferrexpo continues to perform well in [...]
Mitsubishi UFJ suffers quarterly loss but predicts rapid return to profit May 19, 2009 JAPAN’S largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, (MUFG) reported a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) quarterly loss yesterday, hit by the recession and hefty losses on its stockholdings, but forecast a return to profit. MUFG and its rivals have lost billions of dollars from rising bad loans and a slide in the value of their massive stock portfolios. Japanese banks [...]
Bank bosses in fight to pay back funding May 19, 2009 AMERICA’S strongest banks will be allowed to begin paying back their Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) funding in the next few weeks, ramping up the pressure on the chief executives of those who will be told to wait. President Obama’s administration has indicated that around five or six institutions will be the first to repay [...]
Representative democracy needs another look May 19, 2009 The European Commission fined Intel a record &1119;1bn last week for anti-competitive practices. The graph shows the buzz scores for Intel in the UK, Germany and the US, with them all taking a dive on the news. Often when we see bad PR stories with accompanying drops in their “buzz” scores we see no particular [...]
Cable urges UKFI to keep bank stakes May 19, 2009 UK Financial Investments (UKFI) should not be too hasty in disposing of the government’s stakes in banks, Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said yesterday, after it emerged that the organisation was already sounding out potential buyers. It is understood that UKFI has been talking to sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors about taking [...]