Mothercare shares see boost from Royal Baby fever July 22, 2013 Toddler chain Mothercare has seen its share rise this morning to as much as 474.25p (from a previous close of 466.5p) as news of the Duchess of Cambridge entering labour has broken. The company, which has produced a line of prince and princess themed products, is expected to benefit from a boom in baby interest. [...]
UK has joint seventh highest national debt-GDP ratio in EU (with Spain) July 22, 2013 Government debt in eurozone countries rose to 92.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2013 – up from 88.2 per cent in the previous year (release). At the end of the quarter, securities other than shares made up 77.1 per cent of euro area general government debt, while loans [...]
Philips chief executive expresses concern over global economy even as cost cutting pays off July 22, 2013 Dutch healthcare, lighting and consumer appliances group Philips has reported a tripling of second quarter net profits compared to a year ago thanks go cost saving and a jump in sales (release). Net profits were up to €317m compared to the €102m in the same period the year before, with revenues up two per cent [...]
UBS expects to report forecast-beating second quarter profits July 22, 2013 Swiss bank UBS estimates its net profit in the second quarter of 2013 was up 62 per cent to CHF690m (£480m) – above analyst expectations of a 31 per cent rise to CHF558m. Its pre-tax operating profit is estimated to be CHF1.02bn (release). UBS’s wealth management unit – the focus of recent efforts to streamline [...]
Gold prices jump on the back of a weak dollar July 22, 2013 Gold prices jumped two per cent to a high of $1,319.70/t oz last night as the dollar fell against key currencies. This comes as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the ending of quantitative easing did not have a set timetable. This kind of monetary stimulus is often thought of as a support for gold. [...]
Before the open – 22/07 July 22, 2013 After US markets hit record highs on Friday, the FTSE is expected to rise on the open. ETX Capital #morningcall: FTSE100 up 9 points, the DAX higher by 27 points and the CAC40 up by 8 points — ETX Capital (@ETXCapital) July 22, 2013 Our macro data is rather light and all of a US [...]
Duchess of Cambridge enters early stages of labour July 22, 2013 Kensington Palace have confirmed that the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to hospital, and has entered the early the stages of labour. The Duchess of Cambridge travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital with the Duke of Cambridge. — James Manning (@JamesManning4) July 22, 2013
Compulsory audit tenders could cost consumers quality, money and competition July 22, 2013 The Competition Commission (CC) has shied away from compulsory auditor switching, instead pushing for mandatory tenders every five years, in an attempt to break up the big four (PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG). FTSE 350 companies should put their statutory audit engagement out to tender at least every five years. Companies may defer this [...]
Why the French model may have the answer to the NHS’s many challenges July 20, 2013 IT IS often said that the NHS is “the envy of the world”, but this claim is now increasingly difficult to justify. Yesterday, professor Sir Bruce Keogh published his review into 14 NHS hospital trusts with high mortality rates. “Mediocrity is simply not good enough,” he said, with the probe uncovering poor standards of care, [...]
ENRC begins legal proceedings against former director July 19, 2013 Miner ENRC has filed a legal claim in the High Court against a former non-executive director, Paul Judge (release). For breach of fiduciary duty to ENRC, relating to the disclosure of confidential information to the media and for the return of all confidential documentation in his possession. Gerhard Ammann, chairman of ENRC said: We have [...]