UAE economy doubles pace of growth March 11, 2012 THE United Arab Emirates’ economy grew an estimated 3.3 per cent in 2011, the economy minister was quoted as saying yesterday, slower than analysts had expected but still more than double the pace seen in the previous year. Economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said the UAE had faced unprecedented regional and global challenges last [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 11, 2012 O2 The mobile telecoms giant has appointed Martin Harriman as the new head of its business development division. Harriman is joining from LightSquared, where he has been executive vice president since 2009. He has held senior positions at Ericsson in Sweden, and was chief commercial director and a founding member of Augere. Harrison will replace [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 11, 2012 JD WETHERSPOON N+1 Brewin has cut its rating of the pub chain from “hold” to “reduce” with a lowered target price of 375p, down from 443p, in reaction to what it calls “a mild profit warning” in the firm’s results on Friday. The broker has also pared back its forecasts for new openings of Wetherspoon [...]
US economy adds 227,000 jobs in February March 9, 2012 The US economy added 227,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate remained at 8.3 per cent, official figures showed. This is the first time since early 2011 that payrolls have grown by more than 200,000 – a sign the economic recovery was broadening and in less need of stimulus from the Federal Reserve. The [...]
Williams team reports earnings rise March 9, 2012 Motor-racing company, remains in good shape financially with a strong increase in turnover and net profit despite the team’s worst season on the track in Formula One. Chairman Adam Parr said the former champions are financially stable and hoping to perform better in races as well, even without a title sponsor after the departure of [...]
UK industrial output falls March 9, 2012 British industrial output suffered a shock fall in January, raising doubts about whether the economy will rebound after contracting at the end of 2011. The Office for National Statistics said that industrial output fell 0.4 per cent in January after a 0.4 percent rise in December, confounding economists’ forecasts for a 0.3 per cent rise. [...]
China inflation falls as economy slows March 9, 2012 China’s annual consumer inflation slowed sharply to a 20-month low of 3.2 per cent in February, staying comfortably within Beijing’s 2012 target and giving policymakers ample room to further loosen monetary policy to support flagging growth. Easing price pressures will allow the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to continue reducing level of the cash commercial [...]
LSE in £389m swoop for Clearnet March 9, 2012 – The London Stock Exchange is to buy a majority stake in clearing house LCH.Clearnet for up to 463 million euros (£389m) in a critical move by its boss Xavier Rolet after his failure to land a merger with Toronto’s stock exchange. The LSE said on Friday it will buy up to 60 percent of [...]
Weatherspoon blames tax as expansion plans cut March 9, 2012 British pubs operator JD Wetherspoon said it would cut back expansion plans, blaming a harsh tax regime for exacerbating tough trading conditions, and was cautious about prospects for the second half following a decline in sales. The company, which has over 800 pubs across Britain, said it would scale back new openings to 40 pubs [...]
Greece clinches vital debt deal March 8, 2012 THE VAST majority of private sector Greek bondholders agreed to take a massive writedown on their investments last night, opening the way for the second bailout to go ahead. Around 95 per cent of creditors said they will swap their holdings into a mixture of cash and long-term debt worth a fraction of the bonds’ face [...]