BEST of the BROKERS May 7, 2012 PRUDENTIAL JP Morgan Cazenove has maintained its “underweight” rating on Prudential and a target price of 698p ahead of the firm’s first quarter sales announcement tomorrow. The broker predicts its sales to be weak in the US but remaining strong in Asia. INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES GROUP Nomura has maintained its “buy” stance on the British Airways [...]
EPISODE 56 – ONLINE AND, MOST PROBABLY, OUT OF LINE May 7, 2012 “What are you doing?” asks Emma, advancing across the study towards me. I quickly try to return to the BBC website. “Oh, just noodling around. Looking for some stuff for Noel’s school project.” I’m surprised to find myself lying instinctively to my wife, I think for the first time. Emma is soon at my shoulder. [...]
US unemploymnet rate falls May 4, 2012 Employers decreased hiring for the second straight month in April but the unemployment rate still fell to 8.1 percent, giving mixed messages about the economy’s strength ahead of President Barack Obama’s November re-election bid. Employers added 115,000 workers to their payrolls last month, the Labor Department said. The reading keeps fears alive that the US [...]
BNP Paribas profit rises May 4, 2012 BNP Paribas, France’s No. 1 listed bank, posted a rise in first-quarter profits on the back of its windfall from the sale of shares in Klepierre, even as a slowing European economy and one-off costs hit operations. BNP reported net income of 2.87bn euros (£2.3bn), up 9.6 per cent from a year-ago figure of 2.62bn. [...]
UK company insolvencies rise May 4, 2012 Company insolvencies in England and Wales rose by an annual 4.3 percent in the first three months of 2012 to their highest level since late 2009, official data showed on Friday, raising doubts about the health of the economy. The Insolvency Service, a government agency, said that 4,303 businesses went into liquidation in the first [...]
Live coverage of Mayor of London election results May 4, 2012 City A.M. presents live coverage and analysis from City Hall as the results are counted in London’s mayoral election.
Eurozone service sector slumps May 4, 2012 The Eurozone’s vast services sector shrivelled at a much faster rate in April than initially thought, a business survey showed, suggesting that the bloc’s recession could extend through to mid-year. The final reading of April’s Markit Eurozone Services PMI came in at 46.9, a full point lower than the preliminary reading of 47.9 reported two [...]
RBS on road to recovery as profit rises May 4, 2012 State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland said it was on the path to recovery as it reported a better-than-expected first-quarter operating profit and a big reduction in its balance sheet. RBS, which is 82 per cent owned by the government after being rescued during the 2008 financial crisis, on Friday reported a first quarter operating profit [...]
REVOLUTION IN THE CITY May 3, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS yesterday unleashed their wrath on leading blue chip businesses with an unprecedented wave of rebellion against executive pay deals. Businesses including Aviva, UBS and Inmarsat suffered substantial rebellions against remuneration packages at AGMs held yesterday. And last night Trinity Mirror boss Sly Bailey unexpectedly handed in her notice as leading shareholders prepared to mount a [...]
Britain on course to lose vote on EU banking rules May 3, 2012 BRITAIN is on course to be outvoted for the first time ever on a major piece of EU financial regulation, after EU officials said they had a majority in favour of proposals that Osborne said would make him look “like an idiot”. Following 16 hours of negotiations on a set of new EU banking rules that broke [...]