French services outlook hits an 11 month high August 5, 2013 The French service sector is closing in on stagnation in July, with a Markit purchasing manager's index (PMI) figure of 48.6. Economists had predicted a rise to just 48.3, from 47.2 last month. Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Markit and author of the France services PMI said: The French service sector made a further move [...]
Italian services see moderated decline in July August 5, 2013 The decline in the Italian services sector has moderated slightly in July. Markit/ADACI's purchasing manager's index (PMI) has risen from 45.8 to 48.7. Analysts had forecast a much smaller rise to 46.5. Phil Smith, economist at Markit and author of the Italy services PMI said: The downturn in Italy’s service sector lost momentum in July, [...]
Serco confirms US health services contract worth up to $1.25bn August 5, 2013 Services company Serco Group has confirmed the award of a contract worth up to $1.25bn (£820m) to support the US’s Medicare and Medicaid services. Under the contract, which has a one-year base period valued at around $115m with another four one-year options, Serco will provide processing support for the country’s health benefit exchanges designed to [...]
Spanish service sector sees weakest fall in activity in two years August 5, 2013 The Spanish services sector is looking better, with a rise from 47.8 to 48.5. That's slightly ahead of forecasts, with analysts predicting a rise to 48.2. While still below 50, the sector can still be seen as contracting, but the pace of that contraction has slowed down a little. This is the slightest fall in [...]
The Swedish services sector just smashed expectations August 5, 2013 Sometimes analyst get it wrong. Their prediction for the Swedish services number this morning was really, really wrong. Rather than a purchasing manager's index of 46.7, the index rose from 44.9 to a whopping 56.6 in July, a massive rise of 11.7 points. While the krona performed well on the news, it has now retraced [...]
Before the open – 05/08 August 5, 2013 We're expecting European markets to open slightly higher. There's been muted activity in Asian markets after a weaker than expected US jobs report on Friday. Indian services PMI fell to its lowest level since 2009 of 47.9, dropping below the crucial 50 level for the first time since that date, implying that the sector is [...]
Goldman and LME face metal monopoly suit August 4, 2013 WALL Street titan Goldman Sachs and the London Metal Exchange (LME) were yesterday forced to deny allegations they rigged aluminium prices by slowing deliveries of the crucial metal to businesses. Both have been named as co-defendants in a lawsuit brought by US manufacturer Superior Extrusion over allegations of “anticompetitive and monopolistic behaviour” in warehousing the [...]
Little Chef gobbled up by Kuwaiti restaurant giant August 4, 2013 LITTLE Chef, the iconic UK restaurant chain famed for fuelling hungry motorists, has been sold to the Kuwaiti owners of high street bakery Maison Blanc. The classic roadside diner, a fixture of Britain’s A-roads for more than half a century, has been taken over by Kuwaiti-listed Kout Food Group (KFG) following a three month sale [...]
Thousands of cyclists take to London streets August 4, 2013 MORE than 15,000 cyclists pedalled their way around an 100-mile route taking in much of central London yesterday, in the spectacular finale to a weekend of cycling events across the capital. The Prudential RideLondon festival – developed by the Mayor of London, London & Partners and Transport for London in partnership with Surrey County Council [...]
Solid quarter of growth weakened by investment August 4, 2013 TWO PROFESSIONAL bodies of chartered accountants now expect the UK’s growth to rise to one per cent in the third quarter, which would be the joint highest since 2007. According to the Office for National Statistics, the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, but the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England [...]