US adds 171,000 jobs in October November 2, 2012 US employment ticked up in October, official data showed today. The number of people in employment increased by 171,000 in October, with the professional and business services, health care and retail trade all adding jobs, the US Labour Department said today. The government also said 84,000 more jobs were created in August and September than [...]
Westfield Stratford makes almost £900m in sales in first year November 2, 2012 The Westfield shopping centre in Stratford generated £896m in sales in its first year, boosted by the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The shopping centre, which is the largest in Europe, attracted 47m visitors over the year, the Westfield Group said today. The Australian property group’s UK portfolio was over 99.5 per cent leased over the [...]
UK construction activity inches higher in October November 2, 2012 UK construction edged up in October, but firms remained cautious about future business, a survey showed this morning. The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.9 from 49.5 in September, just above the 50 line that indicates growth. It marks the highest reading since July. However new orders fell for the fifth consecutive month, [...]
FTSE 100 down as investors await US jobs report November 2, 2012 The leading share index was trading down in early trading, as investors were cautious ahead of October’s US jobs report. The key US data is forecast to show non-farm payrolls rose 125,000 last month following a 114,000 increase in September. Insurer Admiral Group was the biggest blue chip loser this morning, shedding more than five [...]
Energy business boosts Meggitt November 2, 2012 Defence equipment maker Meggitt this morning said it expects “mid single digit” growth in 2013, following strong growth in its energy business. Meggitt, which makes componenents for the aerospace, defence and energy markets, said the strong orders in its energy business had offset the “continued softness” in civil aerospace revenues. The FTSE 100 company, which [...]
RBS ups PPI provision as profits slump November 2, 2012 Royal Bank of Scotland has upped its provision for payment protection insurance (PPI) by £400m, as it reported a pre-tax loss for the third quarter. The high street bank has now put aside £1.7bn in total for PPI redress. Over the three months to September, RBS reported a pre-tax loss of £1.26bn, down from £2bn [...]
Direct Line halfway towards £100m cost cutting target November 2, 2012 Insurer Direct Line said this morning it was halfway towards its target of £100m in cost savings, as it reported a drop in quarterly profit. The insurer, spun off by RBS in early October, said it achieved around 50 per cent of its 2014 cost target. Direct Line announced plans to shed about seven per [...]
Bank told forecasts are flawed November 1, 2012 INFLATION has been damaging British living standards and dragging down the economy – but the officials who are meant to keep a lid on prices didn’t do enough to help because their forecasts were too often wrong, according to a Bank of England report out today. And even though the Bank was consistently worse at [...]
Rivals set to gain as Comet nears collapse November 1, 2012 THE FUTURE of Comet is hanging by a thread after the troubled retailer called in administrators yesterday, sending its website crashing and shares in rival electricals retailers soaring. OpCapita, the private equity firm which acquired Comet for £2 less than a year ago, confirmed it has filed its intention to appoint administrators with the view [...]
Auditor calls payments to SFO ex-chief irregular November 1, 2012 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) made several “irregular” payments to outgoing chief executive Phillippa Williamson, according to the results of an audit into the events surrounding her April departure from the financial crime watchdog. Investigators deemed £422,000 worth of payments benefiting Williamson to be “irregular”, due to a lack of legally required approval from the [...]