Eurozone private sector activity makes strong start to 2014 January 23, 2014 It's nice to have a more positive message to start the year. And Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg, says that 2014 is "off to a good start" as Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) data comes in strong for January. The euro area's composite PMI is up from 52.1 to 53.2 in January – with [...]
Pearson trading warning sees biggest share dive since 2002 January 23, 2014 UK-based education and publishing company Pearson said that it is still facing tough trading this year. Shares in the FT publisher have fallen seven per cent this morning – the worst daily slide since 2002. They’re currently down 7.5 per cent at £1.22p. Operating profit was approximately £865m before restructuring charges, said the company. Net [...]
SSE suffers falling customer numbers ahead of price cut January 23, 2014 Energy company SSE has confirmed it will cut its household energy prices on 24 March. The confirmation was made in the company's interim management statement and follows the government's announcement of a consultation on reducing environmental charges for energy firms. Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE chief executive, said: December's decision by the UK government to make changes [...]
China’s factory sector contracts for the first time in six months January 23, 2014 Asian stocks dipped in Thursday trading, after an unexpected contraction in China’s factory activity in January. HSBC’s flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in overnight at 49.6 from 50.5 in November and below expectations of 50.6. The number hails the first contraction in six months, as new orders declined and exports stayed soft. On [...]
What you need to know before the open – 23/01 January 23, 2014 After disappointing PMI numbers from China, Europe is expected to open lower today. In focus are European January manufacturing and services PMIs, with predictions that France's will continue to show contraction in economic activity, while Germany will continue to improve. The broader European measure is expected to signal growth in manufacturing and services across the [...]
Winter storms fail to dampen enthusiasm for EasyJet January 23, 2014 Winter storms and power outages at Gatwick airport over Christmas have failed to dampen passengers enthusiasm for low cost airline EasyJet. Seats flown grew by 4.1 per cent to 16.1m, with passengers carried increasing by 4.2 per cent to 14.3m. EasyJet's system of seating allocation introduced in 2012 helped grow revenue per seat by 3.4 [...]
Barclays ends free banking for most SMEs January 23, 2014 BARCLAYS is moving more than 500,000 business customers onto a new set of accounts over this year, the bank said yesterday, to consolidate its SME (small and medium enterprise) operations. Around 60 per cent will be better off or pay no more than £1.50 per month extra, the bank said. But that leaves 40 per [...]
The IPO prospectus that gives you a new definition of clubbing January 22, 2014 Magnum, a chain of three Hong Kong nightclubs, is launching an initial public offering tomorrow. Obviously, briefing prospective investors beforehand is, as with any business, paramount, and Magnum has left no stone unturned in its prospectus. The document includes a definition of nightclubs, highlights the popularity of the Jagerbomb and describes how, on occasion, [...]
Investors have a serious case of Icahn fatigue January 22, 2014 Activist investor Carl Icahn has yet again had a go at pumping up the value of Apple stock. Icahn has become fond of Twitter as a platform, but 66 messages in and the attention of market watchers has started to wear thin. Three consecutive updates failed to make much of a dent in the value [...]
Britain defeated as ECJ upholds ban on short selling January 22, 2014 Britain’s attempt to overturn the EU’s ban on short selling of shares in market emergencies has ended in failure after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the case.The UK had argued that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) was given greater discretion than was justifiable under EU law.The court rejected all four of [...]