Tougher regulation could see a fifth of bookies losing money says JP Morgan January 21, 2014 A fifth of Britain's betting shops could become unprofitable if further regulations are imposed on the gambling industry, according to a research note from JP Morgan. A further 20 per cent of shops could become only marginally profitable if measures such as limits to the number fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) and the size of [...]
ECB’s Nowotny says he sees no deflation risks – But parts of the Eurozone are already suffering January 21, 2014 Ewald Nowotny is on less than top form this morning. The National Bank of Austria president says the he expects higher Eurozone growth to raise inflation in the region in 2015. While inflation should remain under two per cent, he says, he does not expect to see inflation or deflation in the euro area. We'd [...]
Why more young people than ever are living with their parents January 21, 2014 (ONS) Over a quarter of British adults between the ages of 20 and 34 were living with their parents last year – that’s 3.3m people and the biggest increase since the crisis, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Increasing living costs and job pressures carry on preventing people from moving out. [...]
Hollande suffers set back as employers reject jobs targets January 21, 2014 France's largest employers group has confirmed it will not agree to government hiring targets outlined in the so called "responsibility pact" proposed by President Francois Hollande. Medef president Pierre Gatz told France 2 television: I am not talking about written commitments. One million jobs, that is the consequence of the package of measures we expect [...]
Mortgage lending sees strongest quarter since 2008 January 21, 2014 (Laura Lean/City A.M.) Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £17bn in December, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. That's on par with November's total, yet 49 per cent greater than the level seen in December 2012 of £11.4bn. Council of Mortgage Lenders chief economist Bob Pannell says that level was "stronger than [...]
Markets buzz on Chinese liquidity shot January 21, 2014 Yesterday, Chinese GDP numbers showed that economic growth slowed in 2013 from 7.8 per cent to 7.7 per cent. In response, the Chinese government last night administered a short-term liquidity injection to commercial banks, showing its willingness to act in the face of dwindling growth. Market strategist Ishaq Siddiqi of ETX Capital comments that markets [...]
SocGen cuts Apple to “hold” on iPhone 5s sales fears January 21, 2014 France's second biggest bank is falling out of love with tech giant Apple. Societe Generale have cut their rating for the company's shares from "buy" to "hold" – their preferred stock in the communications equipment sector is Ericsson. While the worldwide handset had a good 2014 – equity analyst Andy Perkins said it remained strong [...]
Pictures: Petra Diamonds unearths “exceptional” 29.6 carat blue diamond January 21, 2014 Miner Petra Diamonds has announced this morning that it’s recovered one of those most highly coveted kinds of diamonds – a blue diamond. The precious stone is 29.6 carats, and was found at its Cullinan mine in South Africa. The company says the stone is "one of the most exceptional" it’s ever recovered at the mine, [...]
Carphone Warehouse sticks to full-year guidance despite falling sales January 21, 2014 Carphone Warehouse announced today a 3.1 per cent like-for-like revenue increase in the third quarter. Europe's biggest independent mobile phone retailer suffered further losses in the pre-pay phone market but managed to achieve a sixth quarter of like-for-like revenue growth. The London-listed group's Virgin Mobile France saw revenue decline year-on-year by 15.6 per cent, reflecting [...]
Unilever dogged by currency headwinds and competitive markets January 21, 2014 "Good progress in tough markets" is the phrase Unilever has chosen to describe its performance in 2013. The Anglo-Dutch products giant said its determined to improve by “driving out complexity and cost”. In its full year results for 2013, Unilever reported underlying sales growth of 4.3 per cent (4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter) [...]