London drives frenzy of global property deals August 18, 2015 INVESTMENT activity in commercial property rose sharply in the first half of the year, new figures show, with cities, including London, New York and San Francisco, continuing to steal the spotlight. Global investment in commercial real estate reached $318bn (£204bn) at the end of June, 15 per cent higher than the same time last year, [...]
FTSE 100 bosses have old names August 18, 2015 FTSE 100 chiefs may be upset to learn that their once commonplace names have had their day. According to the Office for National Statistics, no female FTSE 100 chief exec shares a name with one of the top 10 most popular baby names in the UK. As for the men, none of the top boss [...]
H&M July sales beat expectations August 18, 2015 SWEDISH fashion giant H&M posted a better-than-expected rise in sales last month, thanks to improvements to its website and after broadening its home and beauty ranges. The world’s second-biggest clothing retailer said sales in local currencies rose by 16 per cent in July, compared with the same time last year, beating expectations. Analysts on average [...]
German car part firm accelerates $500m merger August 18, 2015 GERMAN industrial filter maker Mann + Hummel has agreed to buy US peer Affinia to boost its annual sales by more than a third to $1bn (£640m) and gain access to the US market for heavy-duty and hydraulic filters. Privately-held Mann + Hummel said it would not disclose the terms, but a regulatory filing by [...]
BT unveils Mike Inglis as newest board member August 18, 2015 UK TELECOMS giant BT has appointed tech industry veteran Mike Inglis as a director and member of its technology committee. Inglis, who competed in the Clipper Round the World yacht race in 2013, jumps ship from Ilika, a materials technology company listed on London’s junior Alternative Investment Market. He also holds director positions at set-top [...]
Gatwick Airport boss Stewart Wingate blasts recommendation to build third Heathrow runway August 18, 2015 The chief executive of Gatwick Airport has hit out at a recent commission’s recommendation that Heathrow be expanded. A 50-page catalogue of criticisms, published yesterday, targets the Davies Commission’s use of analysis from consultants PwC, despite its own expert panel urging caution on it. It also said the commission’s proposals, which rejected calls to expand [...]
Can shipping brokers ride out the rougher seas? August 18, 2015 Commodity turmoil could blow the shipping industry off course. The wider effects of stormy conditions in the global commodities market are emerging as more companies reveal tumbling earnings. Shipping company Clarksons yesterday published profits of £6.2m, down 36.7 per cent on the first six months of the previous year, citing “severe challenges faced by the [...]
Japan’s Abenomics is branded a failure as GDP points to an economic slump August 18, 2015 Japan could be forced to ramp up QE this autumn following its economic contraction – while experts are suggesting Abenomics has been a failure. Latest figures from the world’s third-largest economy show Q2 GDP shrunk 1.6 per cent on an annualised basis, brought down by lower consumer spending and weak exports. Private consumption [...]
Meet London mayor hopeful and Labour MP Diane Abbott: Can the left wing regain City Hall? August 18, 2015 Diane Abbott may be Labour’s most left-wing hopeful for mayor of London, but the longtime MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington insists that she is not campaigning to become the next Ken Livingstone. “I’m not the second coming of Ken Livingstone,” Abbott told City A.M. yesterday in her Portcullis House office. “Different gender for [...]
All eyes on Federal Reserve after shock Empire State index drop August 18, 2015 American traders will be poring over crunch sets of data this week after a key index plummeted to its lowest level since the depths of the recession in 2008-09. The Empire State index – one of several widely watched barometers of manufacturing in the US – collapsed to a score of minus 14.9 in August [...]