Rosneft profit jumps ahead of $55bn TNK-BP takeover November 1, 2012 KREMLIN-controlled energy producer Rosneft yesterday posted soaring profits, just a week after announcing its $55bn (£34bn) acquisition of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP. Profit for the three months to September came in at a five-year high of 181bn rubles (£3.59bn), up from a loss of 8bn rubles in the previous quarter, thanks to higher oil prices, [...]
Phil Vickery is pulling pints at the Pink Lion November 1, 2012 THE Golden Lion pub in Mayfair has been transformed this week by Thomas Pink, the official outfitters of the British & Irish Lion’s 125th anniversary tour to Australia. The newly-named Pink Lion has not only had a rosy-coloured makeover for the week, but is displaying the official tour stash. Not your typical rugby shirts and [...]
The Square Mile comes out in force for London’s Poppy Day November 1, 2012 WITH Poppy Day fundraising events happening all over London yesterday, from Covent Garden to Clarence House, the Square Mile certainly did not let the capital down. The Military Wives Choir were serenading the masses on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral; and over in Leadenhall market HMS Collingwood Band were striking a chord with City [...]
Manufacturers say trading is getting worse November 1, 2012 DISMAL trading for British manufacturers kept the sector’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) firmly in negative territory in October, with the gloomy conditions reflected across the world. Just a week after the UK economy was shown to have grown one per cent in the quarter to the end of September, Markit and CIPS’ PMI reading for [...]
House prices edge back up but market is still in the doldrums November 1, 2012 HOUSE PRICES climbed during last month, Nationwide revealed yesterday, bouncing back after the slip in September and months of weakness in the housing market. The Nationwide house price index grew 0.6 per cent last month, after the 0.4 per cent slip into September. Earlier slips mean the index is still 0.9 per cent lower than it [...]
Think tank says Britain should prepare for no growth this year November 1, 2012 THE UK should not expect economic growth this year, despite a surprise one per cent expansion in the latest quarter, according to research out today. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research predicts a 0.1 per cent contraction during 2012, as the Olympics boost is subsumed by a broader slump. However, this is slightly [...]
US gets employment boost as consumer confidence rockets November 1, 2012 US EMPLOYERS added a slew of employees to their payrolls between September and October, data revealed yesterday. And America also received a boost from a key measure of consumer confidence, which rose to a four year high. The Conference Board’s index of morale rose to 72.2, up from 68.4 in September. Meanwhile total US non-farm private employment [...]
Czech rates cut to record low November 1, 2012 The Czech Central Bank yesterday moved interest rates to a record low of 0.05 per cent in a bid to help pick the country out of a long-running recession. The cut means the bank has slashed rates from 0.5 per cent in the space of two months. Officials are also considering further measures aimed at [...]
Builders call for cut in VAT November 1, 2012 The government should slash VAT on home improvements to five per cent, said materials supplier Wickes today, in order to chop the wedge between “cowboy builders” and honest tradesmen. Wickes says that pricing pressures are driving consumers to hiring less reputable builders at prices that those who pay tax cannot offer. A five per cent VAT rate [...]
QE may last until jobless hits 7.25pc November 1, 2012 Boston Federal Reserve president Eric Rosengren yesterday called on the Fed to carry on purchasing assets until the unemployment rate came down to 7.25 per cent. The headline rate was 7.8 per cent in September, but weekly new unemployment insurance claims seem to be trending downwards. New claims fell 9,000 over the last full week [...]