Swine flu could hit UK economy in 2009 July 20, 2009 INCREASED nervousness about the damaging effects of a swine flu pandemic briefly shook travel stocks yesterday, after the the respected Ernst & Young (E&Y) Item Club warned that the virus could drag Britain’s economy into its worst recession since the early 1930s. The influential think tank said a pandemic reaching 100,000 cases a day by [...]
Nissan to build new electric car battery factory in Britain July 20, 2009 NISSAN, the Japanese carmaker, said yesterday it will invest £200m in a new factory in the North East to produce batteries for electric cars, which is expected to create 350 new jobs. The UK plant, to be based in Sunderland near Nissan’s Wearside car plant, will be its main site for battery production in Europe. [...]
Ameritrade cuts fraud deal, focus shifts to Schwab July 20, 2009 NEW YORK’S attorney general, who is probing illegal marketing and sales of auction rate securities, said yesterday he intends to charge US brokerage Charles Schwab with civil fraud and has reached a settlement with rival TD Ameritrade. Schwab denied the allegations calling them “without merit.” But TD Ameritrade agreed to return $456m (£276m) to investors [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF SWINE FLU ON THE ECONOMY? July 20, 2009 MARK WOOLRIDGE HOME & LEGACY“I think companies will be hit very hard, especially in service-related businesses. If 20 or 30 per cent of staff are off ill, then it will hit the firm’s ability to provide a good service. And if lots of train and tube drivers become ill, then it will really affect transport [...]
HOT TICKETS July 20, 2009 FAN-to-fan ticket exchange Seatwave posted strong growth in the second quarter of 2009 ahead of an action-packed summer of sport and live entertainment. Seatwave said its UK sales grew by 86 per cent compared to the same three months of 2008, while European sales grew 125 per cent in the period. Founder and chief executive [...]
Hambro posts surprise gain in gold output July 20, 2009 PETER Hambro Mining yesterday said its gold production jumped 54 per cent in the first half and noted that output, which is traditionally higher in the second half, will be boosted by one of its biggest mines, the Pioneer deposit. The second-biggest gold producer in Russia said its output rose to about 222,600 ounces. The [...]
SMEs prove fertile testing ground for technology July 20, 2009 IN 1517, Martin Luther had a radical idea and courage. His investigation of the scriptures led him to reject outright that salvation could be purchased. His stand against the Catholic Church initiated the Protestant Reformation. He became an outlaw. But Luther’s ideas would have gotten nowhere if Gutenberg decades earlier had not invented the mechanical printing press. Gutenberg’s Bible [...]
KKR moves a step closer to US flotation July 20, 2009 KOHLBERG Kravis Roberts (KKR), the private equity firm co-founded by “buyout king” Henry Kravis, yesterday secured agreement for a merger with its affiliated private equity fund KKR Private Equity (KPE). The KPE board accepted the merger offer, initially made in June, taking Kravis’ KKR a step closer to its eventual goal of a becoming a [...]
IS YOUR VIEW OF PETER HAMBRO MINING BOOSTED BY THE GOLD RUSH? July 20, 2009 CHARLIE GIBSON EDISON RESEARCHThe update is good stuff and is in-line with what they outlined in terms of full-year goals. There are no details on costs but those will come with the interims in about a month. I think the stock is still a ‘Hold’ for now, unless you believe the gold price is going [...]
Domino’s eyes further gains July 20, 2009 DOMINO’S , the pizza delivery chain, yesterday showed it was slicing its way through the downturn, reporting a 25.2 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £13.6m from £10.9m a year earlier, as the trend for dining at home shows no signs of abating. Sales at the pizza chain are booming, with like-for-like sales up [...]