US suffers shock inflation increase October 19, 2005 Inflation trends differed markedly on either side of the Atlantic yesterday, with the American producer prices (PPI) confounding analysts with their biggest gain in 15 years, but Britain got off lightly with a consumer price index (CPI) level of just 2.5 per cent. The American PPI shot up by 1.9 per cent on last month, [...]
Violet Hue October 18, 2005 Tchenguiz is the last man standing in the race for Somerfield. Another one bites the dust. Amid talk of a high-street bloodbath in the run-up to Christmas, Somerfield has joined the lengthening list of retailers opting to leave the glare of the stock market. Of course, the announcement surprised no one. Somerfield has been on [...]
Hikma plans to float on LSE next month October 18, 2005 Jordanian pharmaceutical company Hikma became the second foreign drugs firm in a week to announce its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange. The multinational group, which specialises in generic, branded and injectable products, is to list on the main market early November with a price range of 265p to 330p, valuing it at [...]
Barbie sales slip by a third in US October 18, 2005 Shares in toy giant Mattel plummeted to their lowest level in almost five years yesterday after the toymaker admitted sales of its iconic Barbie doll had fallen by a third in America. Mattel blamed intense price competition as well as rising oil prices, which affect shipping costs as well as the cost of the plastics [...]
Hawkish deputy governor quits October 18, 2005 Bank of England deputy governor Sir Andrew Large has resigned. He will be replaced by career civil servant Sir John Gieve. Large, who is leaving for the private sector, is commonly regarded as one of the more hawkish members of the all important Monetary Policy Committee. He voted against August’s 25 basis points rate cut [...]
New storm fears stoke up oil prices October 18, 2005 Oil prices leapt by more than $1 a barrel as tropical storm Wilma threatened to move into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week. American crude was up by $1.27 to $64.05 by late afternoon yesterday. The storm has winds of 45 mph and s forecast to strengthen in the next [...]
GM agrees union deal as losses soar October 18, 2005 General Motors, the world’s biggest automaker yesterday said that it had agreed a deal with the United Auto workers union to slash its healthcare costs. The announcement came as GM revealed widening losses for the third quarter of $1.6bn (£910m), or the equivalent of $2.89 per share. Chief executive of the embattled group, Rick Wagoner, [...]
Partygaming winners are the founders October 17, 2005 PartyGaming, the online poker company, reveals its hand on Friday and investors in this summer’s flotation will be able to see the cause of their losses. The company came to market on the back of rapid growth: this week it will reveal that growth has ground to a halt. Do not compare this week’s revenue [...]
Brown’s luck has ‘run out’ October 17, 2005 Gordon Brown cannot hide behind high oil prices, according to Ernst & Young’s influential ITEM Club. The group — which uses the same economic modelling system as the Treasury — said that the chancellor’s luck has run out and that the poor shape of the British economy is solely down to domestic failings. Chief economic [...]
Advisers in all night Refco talks October 17, 2005 Refco held a second day of weekend meetings yesterday as a group of about 50 advisers gathered in New York in an effort to salvage the disgraced group’s regulated futures brokerage arm and determine the fate of its ailing operations. The advisers had begun emergency meetings on Saturday that stretched late into the night to [...]