UK and Australia drag Balfour Beatty into further losses August 14, 2013 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty’s losses accelerated in the first half of the year, with reported pre-tax losses growing from £6m in the same period last year to £67m (release). Group revenues fell three per cent to £4.3bn, and the group made an 8.6p loss per share, down from 11.6p earnings per share the year before. [...]
Glencore Xstrata announce combined production figures following merger August 14, 2013 Glencore Xstrata has announced production figures for the first half of the year as a combined basis following its merger on 2 May 2013 (report). Key highlights include a 20 per cent increase in total own sourced copper production (673,400 tonnes), primarily due to a 42 per cent boost in Africa. Own sourced gold production [...]
Before the open – 14/08 August 14, 2013 Chinese shares were given a boost by carmakers early last night as SAIC Motor’s auto parts business said it would increase its stake in a joint venture with Visteon and rumours that an industry body is helping with a government investigation into foreign carmakers setting minimum prices. The Hang Seng was shut in the morning [...]
Barclays finance director to step down early August 14, 2013 As City A.M. reported this morning, Barclays has announced its group finance director and board member Chris Lucas will step down earlier than expected due to health reasons. Lucas will leave his post on 16 August rather than the previously announced date of 28 February 2014. Lucas said his health was a “key factor” behind [...]
Domestic demand pushes German economy into growth August 14, 2013 The German economy expanded by more than expected in the second quarter of the year, according to figures from the Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland (SBD). German gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.9 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2012, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Analysts had expected to see the economy grow by [...]
Domestic demand pushes German economy into growth August 14, 2013 The German economy expanded by more than expected in the second quarter of the year, according to figures from the Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland (SBD). German gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.9 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2012, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Analysts had expected to see the economy grow by [...]
French economy expands unexpectedly in second quarter August 14, 2013 The French economy expanded unexpectedly in the second quarter of the year, according to government data from INSEE (release). French gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.3 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2013. Analysts had expected to see the economy shrink by 0.1 per cent following the previous quarter’s 0.4 per cent [...]
John Lewis is set to create a new restaurant August 14, 2013 JOHN Lewis is poised to launch a new restaurant concept in a move to diversify its catering range and attract more customers into its department stores. Chief executive Andy Street said while John Lewis’ restaurants and cafeterias were profitable and provided good quality, “middle of the road” food, they were not “cutting edge” brands. “There [...]
EU banks closed 5,500 branches across the continent in 2012 August 14, 2013 BANKS closed 5,500 branches across the European Union last year, 2.5 per cent of the total, leaving the region with 20,000 fewer outlets than it had when the financial industry was plunged into crisis in 2008. Last year’s cuts come after 7,200 branches were axed in 2011, according to data analysed by Reuters from European [...]
Investment Comment: Investing in a low interest climate August 13, 2013 THE BANK of England’s decision to link interest rates to unemployment was widely expected. Accordingly, interest rates could remain at all-time lows until at least the middle of 2016. So what does this mean for investors? WINNERS AND LOSERS Savers will be the worst hit by the pledge of three more years of low interest [...]