SABMiller reports weak Chinese demand January 22, 2013 Weak growth in China held back SABMiller in the three months to December, as lager volumes fell three per cent. The decline in China, which SABMiller said was mainly due to an “exceptionally cold and wet winter” across the country, weighed on lager volumes in the Asia Pacific region, which overall fell by one per [...]
Bumi unable to substantiate claims in Macfarlanes probe January 22, 2013 London-listed coal miner Bumi has received the final conclusions of the Macfarlanes report but is unable to release details, it said this morning. City law firm Macfarlanes was appointed in September to investigate allegations of potential financial irregularities at Bumi’s Indonesian arm, Bumi Resources. The FTSE 250 miner, founded in 2010 as cash shell Vallar, [...]
Bank of Japan agrees inflation target and monetary easing January 22, 2013 The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has agreed to double its inflation target to two per cent and introduce open-ended monetary policy easing in its most determined effort yet to end years of economic stagnation. The central bank said that from next year it would switch to an open-ended approach of buying assets – 13 trillion [...]
Sir Stuart Rose appointed new Ocado chairman January 22, 2013 Online grocer Ocado has appointed former Marks & Spencer chief executive Sir Stuart Rose as its new chairman. Sir Stuart will succeed Michael Grade as chairman following Ocado’s AGM in May. Rose, who has worked in the retail sector for 41 years, was chief executive of clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer from 2004 [...]
Sterling dives to a 10-month low January 21, 2013 THE POUND has sunk to its weakest level since early last year, with analysts fearful that it could crash even further in the coming days. Sterling touched €1.1875 during yesterday’s trading, its weakest print against the euro since the middle of March 2012. It has plummeted from a peak of around €1.29 last summer. Against [...]
Cold snap travel chaos prompts bosses to call for a rethink January 21, 2013 PARTS of the capital’s transport network were left in disarray by snow and ice yesterday, prompting businesses to call for more concerted planning for cold weather. Heathrow cancelled one in ten flights yesterday, hoping to avoid a repeat of the weekend’s frustrations when passengers waited hours for flights that were eventually axed. Gatwick Airport has [...]
UK becomes top German trade partner January 21, 2013 THE UK has leapfrogged France to become Germany’s top trading partner, according to data highlighted yesterday by a central banking group. Trade between Germany and the UK totalled €153bn (£129bn) in the first nine months of 2012, the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum said in a note, according to data from the Bundesbank. This puts the [...]
Obama begins second term in the White House January 21, 2013 BARACK Obama set the tone for a more assertive second term with his second inauguration speech yesterday afternoon. “Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way,” Obama said, as he addressed fewer [...]
Bankers leave glamorous jobs for compliance roles January 21, 2013 BANKERS are retraining in compliance in unprecedented numbers either to change career as their traditional jobs are cut, or to make sure they are well prepared to cope with tough new regulations, according to figures seen by City A.M. The City has lost over 100,000 jobs since the start of the financial crisis as banks [...]
Weidmann says BoJ policy risks a currency war January 21, 2013 THE PRESSURE Japanese leader Shinzo Abe is putting on the Bank of Japan (BoJ) threatens central bank independence and could risk a currency war, Bundesbank boss Jens Weidmann said yesterday. Japanese Prime Minister Abe has put heavy pressure on the BoJ to drastically increase its monetary interventions in order to boost inflation to its two per [...]