Eurozone officially exits the recession in the second quarter August 14, 2013 The economic situation in the Eurozone worsened less than expected in the second quarter, according to seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) figures released by Eurostat (release). Compared to the same period the year before, GDP fell by 0.7 per cent – beating analysts’ expectations of a 0.8 per cent fall. And quarter-on-quarter, GDP was [...]
The UK labour market is improving August 14, 2013 The number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 29,200 in July, beating expectations of a fall of 15,000. By comparison, the claimant count fell by an upwardly revised 29,400 in June. The claimant count rate was 4.3 per cent down slightly from 4.4 per cent the month before. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Bank of England forward guidance decision was not unanimous August 14, 2013 One member of the Bank of England's nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted against the Bank's forward guidance policy due to a disagreement regarding the time frame for one of the "knockout" conditions that would remove the link between rates and unemployment (minutes). The Bank said that Martin Weale supported in principle the use of [...]
US Senate committee investigation into threats and risks of Bitcoin August 14, 2013 A US Senate committee has written to major financial regulators and law enforcement agencies to investigate the threats and risks posed by virtual currencies like Bitcoin. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs said it was concerned that virtual currencies could be sent anonymously, leaving little to no trail for regulators and law [...]
Pest control company tops FTSE 250 on better-than-expected results August 14, 2013 Pest control company Rentokil was the biggest riser on the FTSE 250 this morning, up over seven per cent on the news its adjusted pre-tax profits rose 7.9 per cent to £54.8m – beating analyst expectations of £50.9m. Despite pre-tax profits falling 18.7 per cent to £51.9m and conditions in continental Europe continuing to be [...]
MITIE acquires criminal records check service August 14, 2013 Strategic outsourcing company MITIE has announced it has acquired the UK criminal records checking service UKCRBs from the management team. The business will be integrated into MITIE’s exisiting employee screening business, and MITIE hopes it will help improve turnaround times and expand its technology platform. The combined business has over 600 customers in health, financial [...]
What the analysts are saying about French and German GDP data August 14, 2013 Here's what the analysts have to say about strong growth in the French and German economies this morning. Ishaq Siddiqi, ETX Capital: Both economies showing a solid upswing, particularly France (given how markets have worried about the government’s slow implementation of budget reforms) bodes well for a robust reading for the euro area as a [...]
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 [...]