Climb in confidence of German business as Greek crisis subsides July 27, 2015 GERMAN business confidence climbed in July, survey data showed yesterday, as fears over Greece leaving the Eurozone subsided. Research institute IFO said its Business Climate Index rose to a 108 this month from 107.5 in June. It followed two months of contraction. The survey, which looks at responses from around 7,000 German firms, revealed rising [...]
Hiscox posts increased profit and premiums despite tough market July 27, 2015 INSURANCE group Hiscox reported an “excellent” start to its year yesterday, with premiums and profits up during the first six months of 2015. Gross written premiums jumped from £979m in the first half of 2014, to £1.1bn, while pre-tax profit increased to £135m from £125m. The company also said its retail business had delivered record [...]
Petra Diamonds keeps its shine July 27, 2015 PETRA’S production for the year is up two per cent, in line with expectations, however revenue dropped by 10 per cent due to lower average diamond prices compared with 2014. The firm saw a strong performance at three of its mines during the year, but this was offset by a weaker performance at its other [...]
Cranswick sales show marked improvement July 27, 2015 UK FOOD producer Cranswick yesterday reported an eight per cent rise in revenue during the three months to 30 June, compared with the same period of last year. The meat products firm said its improved performance was driven by strong volume growth across most product categories. Underlying sales were also up, by four per cent, [...]
City Moves for 28 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 27, 2015 Cording Real Estate Group The real estate investment and asset management firm has appointed Philip Gittins as group finance director. He was most recently managing director of Saltgate’s Luxembourg operation. Gittins has worked in investment since 1987, and spent almost 20 years at Henderson Global Investors. Ingenious Asset Management George Moorey-Denham has been appointed business [...]
FTSE wipes all 2015 gains as commodity stocks take a tumble – London Report July 27, 2015 The FTSE fell back to where it started this year, erasing all its gains made since January, down 8.4 per cent since hitting a record high in April. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.1 per cent lower at 6,505.13 points, in its longest losing streak so far in 2015. Fears for economic [...]
Chinese decline hits Wall Street – New York Report July 27, 2015 The Nasdaq lost almost one per cent yesterday, after the steepest decline in Chinese stocks in eight years increased concerns that cooling growth in the world’s second largest economy could hurt China’s trading partners. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.72 per cent to end at 17,441.79 points, its lowest since February. The S&P 500 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 28 July 2015 July 27, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DRAX GROUP Whitman Howard reiterated its “buy” recommendation on the electrical power generation firm, ahead of its interim results, which are out today. The broker said: “Operationally, the various units are performing well and we still believe that there is good long term [...]
Gold price hits five-year low: Is it all over for the precious metal? July 27, 2015 With prices at five-year lows, Annabelle Williams asks whether the precious metal is truly hammered The gold price has been hammered in the last few weeks, leaving the precious metal at the lowest prices for five years. Gold took a nosedive last week when an unknown entity – with considerable power, perhaps a [...]
How much lower can the Australian dollar go? – CNBC Comment July 27, 2015 Commodities have been a crushing long trade, with the latest rout taking oil below $50 a barrel, and the commodity currencies to six year lows. They are not the only victims, with gold, copper, iron ore, mining stocks and soft commodities also casualties in a rollover that some are calling a second wave meltdown. The [...]