Christmas will be make or break for our retailers November 8, 2009 WHEN the Christmas lights on Regent Street were switched on last week, it marked the beginning of the most important period of the year for high-street retailers. Many can earn 60 per cent of their annual profits in the peak weeks of Christmas. After a dismal end to 2008 when it seemed like retail chains [...]
TURNAROUND IN GREENBACK SOME WAY OFF November 8, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMTHERE has been a lot written in the last few days about the potential for a period of consolidation in the prices of many asset classes over the next three months. The earnings performance of many US companies in the third quarter didn’t quite meet forecasts, while consumers remain under pressure from [...]
THE TIPSTER GOOD RESULTS BUT OUTLOOK QUESTIONED November 8, 2009 WE ARE still in earnings season and mobile telecoms giant Vodafone is due to report its interim results tomorrow. Last week’s comments by Cisco that technology spending is on the up may be the sort of signal to encourage further support for the company, but with competitor Orange launching their UK iPhone sales on the [...]
ECONOMIC DIARY November 8, 2009 Monday 2 NovemberGermany:September imports and exports (7am)September trade balance (7am)September industrial production (11am) Tuesday 3 NovemberUK:October RICS house pricebalance (12am)BRC October retail sales (12am)September trade balance (9.30am)September DCLG UK houseprices (9.30am) US:Fed’s Lockhart speaks on US economic outlook (2.15pm) Germany: November ZEW survey on economic sentiment and [...]
Saying “aloha” to the City’s coolest new watering hole November 8, 2009 YOU don’t have to be a millionaire to come here,” says Nick House, before a backdrop of Hawaiian masks, carved screens, coconuts and bamboo chairs. Then he laughs and jokes: “But it helps.” With his business partner Piers Adam, House is one of the biggest names on the London clubbing scene. One of the pair’s [...]
Stocks looking higher for now but resources the key November 8, 2009 UK and European stock markets are set to open higher this morning, following on from Friday’s bounce-back from the initial sell-off which followed the all-important US employment data. GFT is quoting the FTSE 100 index to open up 24 points from Friday’s close of 5,142. The German DAX is also called higher, up 25 points [...]
Share index up as Bank of England keeps rates at a low November 5, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed 0.4 per cent up yesterday, with energy stocks lifted by optimism on the economic outlook as central banks kept rates steady and US data surprised on the upside. The Bank of England kept rates steady at a record low of 0.5 per cent and said it would expand its quantitative [...]
Stocks jump based on economic data November 5, 2009 US stocks jumped yesterday, pushing the S&P 500 up for a fourth day, as economic data boosted confidence in the recovery and strong results from Cisco Systems suggested a rebound in technology spending. The market’s advance was broad-based, and the Dow ended above 10,000 for the first time in two weeks. Shares of Cisco, which [...]
Why we need to go global with ethics November 4, 2009 ETHICS is one of the buzz-words in the City at the moment, with all sorts of companies trying to convince customers, investors and policymakers that they have changed the way they do business. But the issue has been at the forefront of accountants’ minds ever since another E-word loomed into sight: Enron. When the American [...]
ROCKY TIMES ARE AHEAD FOR UK PLC November 4, 2009 PETER COOPERLONDON HEAD, BAKER TILLY RESTRUCTURING & RECOVERY LLP NEWS of the UK’s economic contraction for a sixth consecutive quarter startled economists and captains of industry. We believe that administrations could rise once again in the immediate future. One reason is that the number of companies suffering late payment from customers has more than doubled [...]
