Germany pours cold water on EU summit hopes December 7, 2011 Pessimistic comments from EU paymaster Germany and new figures exposing deepening stress among Europe’s banks have dented financial market hopes of a turning point in the euro zone’s debt crisis at a summit this week. President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel detailed their plan to amend the EU treaty to anchor stricter budget discipline [...]
Osborne to deliver budget on 21 March December 7, 2011 Chancellor George Osborne said he would deliver his 2012 annual budget on March 21. “The budget will be on the March21 ,” Osborne told MPs. The economy is teetering on the edge of contraction, damaged by the euro zone crisis, rising unemployment and strained credit conditions, leaving Osborne’s plan to tackle a record budget deficit [...]
Citi begins London investment bank layoffs December 7, 2011 Citigroup has begun a round of layoffs among its London-based investment bankers this week, with jobs in advisory, equities and fixed income set to go as the bank readies 4,500 redundancies worldwide. There are likely to be “several hundred” job cuts across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, a person familiar with the matter [...]
Police make new phone hacking arrest December 7, 2011 Police have made another arrest in the investigation into illegal phone hacking at Rupert Murdoch’s Sunday tabloid title News of the World. Metropolitan Police said they had arrested the 41-year-old man and were holding him at a south London police station on suspicion of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages and perverting the course of justice. [...]
Banks and miners fuel FTSE gains December 7, 2011 Miners and banks fuelled a lift in the FTSE 100 as investor sentiment improved ahead of a crunch Eurozone summit. The blue chip index mirrored Asia and the US where markets recovered from the ratings blow from Standard & Poor’s, which threatened to downgrade 15 nations, including Germany. There is mounting optimism that Eurozone leaders [...]
Industrial output falls at fastest rate for six months December 7, 2011 Industrial output fell more than expected and at its fastest pace in six months in October, official data showed on Wednesday, raising concerns the economy may be heading for recession after a string of weak business data. The Office for National Statistics said industrial output fell 0.7 per cent in October, more than double the [...]
Blacks to be put up for sale December 7, 2011 Blacks Leisure plans to put itself up for sale after the struggling outdoor retailer failed to raise enough funds to carry on the business. The retailer had issued a profit warning last month in the run-up to Christmas, after the retailer in October said it was evaluating all kinds of funding options. “The directors do [...]
Stagecoach profits hit by rail unit December 7, 2011 Transport group Stagecoach reported a bigger-than-expected drop in first-half profit hurt by losses at its East Midlands rail franchise. The bus and rail operator said pretax profit fell 18 percent to £88.7m. Sales in the six months to end-October rose 14 percent to £1.29bn, also below estimates of 1.37 billion pounds. The results were hurt [...]
Numis profits rise driven by M&A December 7, 2011 Stockbroker Numis posted a 13 per cent rise in full-year pretax profitS driven by a near doubling in its mergers and acquisition deal fees, but said it saw no near-term change in difficult market conditions. The firm, which focuses on small to mid-cap clients, said adjusted profit before tax increased to £8.9m in the year [...]
Kesa suffers first half loss December 7, 2011 Electricals retailer Kesa swung to an expected first-half loss reflecting a poor performance at its Comet business in Britain, which is being sold, and weaker second-quarter trading in France. Kesa, whose main business is French market leader Darty, said on Wednesday while all markets were becoming more challenging, it was “well prepared” for the peak [...]