Bank of England cuts growth forecast May 16, 2012 The Bank of England has reduced its growth forecast for this year to 0.8 per cent from 1.2 per cent. Officials attributed the cut to the ongoing problems in the Eurozone. The rate of inflation will not fall as quickly as previously thought, and will remain above the government’s two per cent target “for the [...]
UK unemployment falls May 16, 2012 The number of Britons out of work fell at the fastest pace in nearly a year in the three months to March, official data showed, pointing to some underlying resilience in the economy. Britain slipped back into recession at the beginning of 2012, stoking fears that more people will become unemployed at a time when [...]
EADS hit by Airbus wing cracks May 16, 2012 Airbus parent EADS took a charge of 158m euros for the cost of overcoming wing cracks on the A380 superjumbo as it posted better-than-expected first-quarter results on Wednesday buoyed by resilient aircraft and helicopter demand. The move, following 105m euros (£83m) covered by an existing warranty provision, reflects efforts by Europe’s leading aerospace group to [...]
John Lewis raises sales forecast May 16, 2012 John Lewis, Britain’s biggest department store group, has raised its sales guidance after outperforming a flat retail market in its first quarter and believes the economy is on course for a slow recovery, despite a recent dip back into recession. “My gut feel is a long, slow, steady recovery that at certain points will look [...]
BG and Ophir in new gas find in East Africa May 16, 2012 British gas firm BG Group and explorer Ophir Energy said they had found more gas off the coast of Tanzania, raising hopes that the East African country will become a major new gas province. The discovery at the Mzia well will provide a substantial boost to their total estimate of how much gas they have [...]
Land Securities says Eurozone crisis denting London office sales May 16, 2012 Land Securities, the biggest listed British property developer, said demand for office space in London was lower than expected due to the worsening turmoil in the Eurozone. The joint developer of the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City of London financial district said on Wednesday firms were delaying moves due to economic uncertainty. “We remain [...]
GREEKS FORCED BACK TO POLLS May 15, 2012 MARKETS collapsed again yesterday after Greece announced that new elections will take place next month, raising the spectre of the country rejecting its bailout and being forced to leave the Eurozone. Stocks dropped across Europe, and struggling Eurozone governments saw their borrowing costs jump sharply on the renewed uncertainty, while German bund yields fell to [...]
Car trade in first surplus since 1976 May 15, 2012 BRITAIN has posted its first quarterly trade surplus in cars since 1976 after cashing in on rising foreign demand for vehicles made in the UK. The value of car exports hit £6.1bn in the first quarter of the year, £561m ahead of the value of imports and up 20 per cent on the final three [...]
Dimon faces no pay revolt despite FBI probing loss May 15, 2012 JP MORGAN’S Jamie Dimon won the support of 91 per cent of shareholders for his pay package yesterday despite having presided over a $2bn (£1.25bn) trading loss from a botched hedging strategy. US regulators widened their investigation into the losses, with the FBI and Department of Justice now “looking into it”, according to the FBI, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 15, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU to push for binding investor pay votes Shareholders in Europe’s listed companies will be given a binding vote on pay while those who invest in banks will gain powers to set a cap on bonus levels, under plans being drawn up by senior EU officials. The initiative from Michel Barnier, the EU’s [...]