Shock upturn in US jobless benefit claims April 14, 2011 CLAIMS for unemployment benefits in the US unexpectedly shot up last week, official data showed yesterday. New claims have been on a downward path for around two years, but jumped by 27,000 in the week ending 9 April to total 412,000. Applications for state benefit typically increase at the beginning of a new quarter, as [...]
Defensive sectors support US market April 14, 2011 STOCKS that outperform in a weak economy helped buoy the Dow and S&P 500 yesterday as concerns about faltering growth and inflation prompted investors to seek out less volatile names. Energy shares also rallied as US crude gained more than one per cent. The S&P 500 fell almost one per cent early but found support [...]
Barclays warns that inflation could soar past five per cent April 13, 2011 INFLATION could still rise above five per cent this year, economists at Barclays claimed yesterday. The announcement surprised analysts after consumer price inflation sank to four per cent in March, from 4.4 per cent the previous month. However, strong upwards pressures in food and energy costs will drive inflation to a peak of 5.1 per [...]
French inflation climbs upwards April 13, 2011 Inflation in France climbed to a 32-month high of 2.2 per cent in March, according to the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP). The HICP was up 0.9 per cent from February due to strong price increases in clothing (eight per cent), energy (2.4 per cent) and food (0.9 per cent), the national statistics institute [...]
Begbies warns over companies on the brink April 13, 2011 The number of British companies in serious financial distress soared in the first quarter with restaurants, professional services businesses and the leisure industry in particular difficulty, a report showed. Begbies Traynor, a corporate recovery company that helps wind up or restructure firms, said its Red Flag Alert database showed 186,554 UK businesses were facing significant [...]
Inflation dips on food prices April 12, 2011 INFLATION surprisingly slowed to four per cent in March, down from February’s 28-month high of 4.4 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. Consumer prices rose 0.3 per cent from February to March, yet compared to the same months last year inflation slowed by 0.4 per cent. Food discounts by the UK’s [...]
UK rate rise delay now expected by markets April 12, 2011 YESTERDAY’S drop in the consumer price index (CPI) inflation figure for March, from 4.4 to 4 per cent, surprised the markets. This sent sterling tumbling as expectations of a May rate rise evaporated. Weak retail figures compounded the gloomy outlook for the pound. Many traders seem to have been tipped off prior to the announcement, [...]
Inflation in surprise drop April 12, 2011 Consumer price inflation fell unexpectedly in March, after a month-on-month decline in the cost of food and drink outweighed higher housing and utility costs, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. The first fall in the CPI rate since July last year will provide much-wanted reassurance for the Bank of England that inflation is [...]
UK high street sales drop at record rate April 11, 2011 SPENDING on the UK high street plummeted at a record rate last month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said today. The year-on-year drop was partly due to the Easter holidays switching to April this year, which delayed a traditional boost in spending. “This year’s later Easter is a factor but this fall goes way beyond [...]
RISING COSTS CAST SHADOW ON EARNINGS April 11, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT AFTER months of pressure, Portugal finally gave in last week and approached the European Commission for financial aid. This caused widespread relief, as the EU has been desperate to create a firewall between Greece, Ireland and Portugal and the rest of the Eurozone. The consensus is that this latest bailout will [...]