US manufacturing surprises analysts with a strong surge in growth July 24, 2013 Following strong manufacturing figures from France, Germany and the eurozone, the US has surprised analysts with decisively strong growth to a four month high in July. The Markit purchasing manager's index (PMI) for manufacturing rose to 53.2 from 51.9, against analyst expectations of a flat rate of growth at 51.9. Any figure above 50 implies [...]
Goldman Sachs says that 10 year bonds are now less appealing than cash July 24, 2013 In a new note, Goldman Sach's investment research team suggests that trackers are weighting 10 year government bonds too highly, and should now prefer cash. For the best returns, equities are set to deliver 13 per cent in the next 12 months say Goldman. That's a far higher rate of return than the two per [...]
Dell offer raised by founder – it’s apparently his final and best July 24, 2013 Technology giant Dell has announced that its founder Michael Dell and the private equity group Silverlake have hiked their offer for the firm to $13.75 per share. That's an increase of $0.10 per share, and constitutes what Michael Dell says is his final and best offer. The Dell special meeting has been delayed until Friday, [...]
US spy fugitive Snowden may have been granted temporary asylum in Russia July 24, 2013 State-owned Russian news agency RIA Novosti has reported that former NSA contractor and US fugitive Edward Snowden has been given an official pass to leave Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Snowden has been living in the transit zone since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June 2013. He has requested asylum in a number of countries and [...]
GlaxoSmithKline reports solid second quarter results but warns over impact of bribery scandal July 24, 2013 The pharmaceutical company at the centre of a Chinese bribery investigation GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reported a second quarter net profit of £1.05bn, and an expected four per cent rise in core earnings per share to 26.3p (release). Total group turnover in the second quarter was up two per cent to £6.6bn, while it remained flat [...]
More pharmaceutical firms could be implicated in Chinese bribery scandal July 24, 2013 China’s official news agency Xinhua has indicated that more foreign and local pharmaceutical firms could be implicated in the corruption scandal gripping the industry. This comes amid bribery accusations against GlaxoSmithKline, which is set to report its results at midday today. It will not be surprising if more pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, domestic or international, [...]
Commuter crush: Seven out of 10 most overcrowded trains in Britain go to London July 24, 2013 The latest figures from the Department for Transport show that of the 10 most overcrowded train services in Britain, seven are London-bound. All of the worst journeys started at or ended in the capital last spring. Services running during spring and autumn of 2012 were monitored by the government, and this top 10 list represents [...]
Egyptian crisis escalates as army calls for public support to end “terrorism” July 24, 2013 The situation in Egypt may heat up further as General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi – the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian armed forces who ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi on 3 July 2013 – calls for the people to take to the streets in support for the military and police forces to take action against "terrorism" and [...]
Study shows power of Twitter in international diplomacy July 24, 2013 The power of Twitter in global politics has been evidenced by the latest study by Twiplomacy, which found that the governments of 77.7 per cent of the 193 UN member countries have a Twitter presence, with nearly half personal accounts of heads of state, heads of government and ministers of foreign affairs (infographic). But while [...]
New data suggests that tomorrow will show growth doubled in the second quarter July 24, 2013 The CBI industrial trends survey for total orders has hit its highest level in seven months, up from -18 to -12, in-line with analyst forecasts. That's a seven month high. Business optimism came in at seven from five prior (eight expected). 32% of firms reported an increase in total new orders and 27% said they [...]