Wolseley build on economic recovery as revenue rises November 28, 2013 Mulitnational building company Wolseley has seen a like-for-like revenue increase of 3.5 per cent reaching £3.4bn for the three months to 31 October. USA like-for-like revenue growth stood at 7.6 per cent as key businesses continued to take market share. Revenue of the ongoing businesses was 7.4 per cent ahead of last year while trading [...]
Weak French economy leaves Kingfisher with flat sales November 28, 2013 Kingfisher has seen flat sales for the 13 weeks ended 2 November, due to a poorly performing French economy. Profits in France dropped by 5.6 per cent over the period. The owner of B&Q and Screwfix saw like-for-like sales in France of £1.17bn. Analysts at Deutsche Bank had expected a sales increase of 0.3 per [...]
What you need to know before the open – 28/11 November 28, 2013 European bourses are set to open mixed this morning as unemployment and CPI data come in from Germany. US markets are closed for Thanksgiving, which is likely to subdue Europe further. The Dax, however, is expected to open higher, after German parties agreed on a grand coalition deal yesterday. ETX Capital #morningcall: FTSE100 down 2 [...]
Rio Tinto iron ore expansion cheaper than expected November 28, 2013 Rio Tinto's existing plan to grow its iron ore production to 360m tonnes a year will cost more than $3bn (£1.8bn) less than it had previously thought, the mining giant said today. It said that combining its brownfield expansions and securing further low-cost productivity gains will feed the expanded infrastructure its currently developing. To further [...]
Npower set to cut 1,400 jobs November 27, 2013 Energy supplier Npower looks set to cut 1,400 jobs, as it restructures its UK operations. Confirmation of the losses is expected from the group tomorrow. Speculation this afternoon is that it is on the verge of announcing its intention to offshore more than 1,400 jobs to India and transfer hundreds of others to a private [...]
Cyber fraud victims lose an average of £371 this year November 27, 2013 As 33.6m of us are expected to storm online stores this Monday, new research from Barclays and Kaspersky Lab reveals that 4m of us were hit by cyber fraud in the last year. Victims were stung for a total of £1.5bn – an average of £371 per person. Shoppers are expected to rush for online [...]
If you’d taken out a £100 payday loan last month to invest in Bitcoin you’d be up over £330 November 27, 2013 How fast is Bitcoin rising? The hugely volatile market in the digital currency has seen its price rise more than 7500 per cent this year, hitting $1000 today. To really get a grip on how fast that is, compare it with other fast-rising things – how about a payday loan? If you borrowed £100 from [...]
US economic stability strengthens slightly in October November 27, 2013 The CB leading indicator rose 0.2 per cent in October, after analysts expected no increase and following September's 0.9 per cent increase. The indicator is a measure for economic stability.
US consumer confidence improves in November November 27, 2013 Consumer confidence in the US improved in November with the Reuters/Michigan consumer sentiment index at 75.1, from 73.2 in October and after expectations of a marginal rise to 73.5. But today's numbers contrast with a survey yesterday from the Conference Board, which indicated that consumer confidence fell this month.
Bitcoin clears $1,000 barrier – but why is this radical alternative currency worth so much? November 27, 2013 The crytocurrency Bitcoin has just breached the psychologically significant $1,000 level. Many have compared the virtual currency's rise to the tulip bulb mania of the 1600s. It suffered a severe correction in April when it lost more than half of its value in days after climbing to over $220. The unconventional means of exchange has [...]