Pull out the stops in a pop-up shop July 22, 2012 POP-UP shops have all the warning signs of a government gimmick: a catchy name, the retail sector’s celebrity-in-chief Mary Portas, and swarms of immodest politicians looking to take the credit. But beneath the layers of puff and guff is a steely policy that could help carve through a stifling regulation that ties the hands of [...]
London Stock Exchange surges as speculation over merger circulates July 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged higher yesterday helped by a bounce in several heavyweight banking stocks. But the London Stock Echange gathered the most attention, with a late surge before the close sparked by speculation of a potential tie-up with its Singaporean counterpart. The talk follows the LSE’s recently announced joint venture with the Singapore [...]
Tech shares push S&P to 10-week high July 19, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday for a third straight day, with the S&P 500 at a 2-1/2 month high, as earnings from technology companies and expectations for more monetary stimulus outweighed weak economic data. So far in this earnings season a majority of companies have beaten analysts’ lowered expectations. In the latest boost, IBM raised its [...]
Stocks edge upwards on renewed hope for more quantitative easing July 18, 2012 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index closed at its highest level in nearly two weeks yesterday, as hopes of fresh central bank stimulus measures lifted equity markets, although traders said the overall weak economic outlook would limit any future gains. The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended up 56.68 points, or one per cent, at 5,685.77 points – its [...]
Good earnings news gives lift to Wall Street July 18, 2012 THE S&P 500 touched its highest level since early May yesterday as corporate profits from bellwethers Intel and Honeywell defied fears of a collapse in earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 103.16 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 12,908.70. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 9.11 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 1,372.78. [...]
MBA research quirks can better your career July 18, 2012 WHY SHOULD an MBA student care how John Maynard Keynes picked his stocks? Or how hospitals can be redesigned to prevent infection? Or how farmers’ markets could attract new customers? To many, the research interests of business school professors will seem abstract, narrow, even irrelevant. And MBA students may not be all that bothered whether [...]
Cornerstone stocks drag down the FTSE 100 in thin trading volumes July 17, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped in thin volume yesterday, hit by falls for several heavyweight banks and miners, and was expected to remain technically range-bound in the near term. While some in the market had hoped US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke would signal it was closer to launching a fresh round of monetary stimulus, [...]
Earnings relief and Fed hints lift Wall Street July 17, 2012 US stocks rose yesterday after Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs joined the growing roster of S&P companies that beat profit forecasts and as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke left the door open to more stimulus. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78.33 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 12,805.54. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added [...]
We need a fresh approach to risk July 17, 2012 IN LATE June, beginning of July, someone pressed the emergency malfunction switch again for the UK’s banks. The reputational fallout has been toxic. Even Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England said: “[something] went very wrong with the UK banking industry and we need to put it right.” In just two short weeks, [...]
FTSE dips on mining and banking while security firm G4S is top faller July 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower in low-volume trade yesterday, led by banks and mining stocks, as concern about the outlook for corporate earnings kept investors cautious. The FTSE 100 ended down 3.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,662.43 in volume, just under two-thirds of its 90-day daily average. “Investors are not keen to [...]