London Sports Festival moves from 3×3 basketball success to pickleball at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Yard
Inflation in British stores still growing March 8, 2011 PRICES in British shops rose again in February, despite a slowdown in food price inflation, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed today. Overall prices grew 0.7 per cent compared to January, when they increased by 0.6 per cent on December. Inflation in February rose to an annualised rate of 2.7 per cent, up from 2.5 [...]
FED CARRIES ON WITH QE REGARDLESS March 7, 2011 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT EQUITY markets are attempting to shrug aside the civil unrest taking hold across north Africa and the Middle East. Yet the attendant rally in crude oil has taken both Brent and WTI contracts well above $100 per barrel, and this is not looking like a temporary phenomenon. Despite this, stocks rebounded [...]
No double dip but UK faces weak recovery March 3, 2011 BRITAIN’S recovery looks set to be weighed down by sluggish growth, the latest business surveys suggest. The economy is on course to grow by 0.5 per cent this quarter, according to Markit’s surveys, rebounding from the snow-affected 0.6 per cent contraction in the final three months of last year. Yet much of the recovery is [...]
Polish Bank holds interest rates March 2, 2011 The National Bank of Poland kept its benchmark 3.75 per cent interest rate unchanged yesterday, triggering a weakening of the zloty down to 3.9706 zlotys to the euro. Polish inflation climbed from 3.1 to 3.8 per cent in January amid rising food and petrol prices.
What the other papers say this morning March 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES TOP 10 HEDGE FUNDS MAKE $28BN The top 10 hedge funds made $28bn for clients in the second half of last year, $2bn more than the net profits of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Barclays and HSBC combined, according to new data. Even the biggest of the hedge funds have only a [...]
Oil supply fears cause further FTSE fall March 1, 2011 Fears of oil supply disruption due to Middle East unrest hit the FTSE in afternoon trading, pushing the FTSE 100 down 0.97 per cent to 5.935.76. Concerns that the political unrest could spread to major world oil exporter Saudi Arabia caused crude prices to rise still higher and sent oil-sensitive travel stocks lower. Brent crude [...]
Manufacturing PMI holds record high in February March 1, 2011 Manufacturing growth held at a record level in February and factory costs stayed near January’s survey high, suggesting price pressures are continuing to build, a survey showed. The Markit/CIPS headline manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 61.5 in February, unchanged from a downwardly revised 61.5 in January. That was the highest since the survey [...]
Labour goes to war over living costs February 28, 2011 THE squeeze on middle earners exploded into a political battle yesterday, after Labour leader Ed Miliband accused the government of imposing a “cost of living crisis for ordinary families… for years to come.” The Conservatives hit back, attacking Labour for causing “the deepest recession since the war” while leading the UK to a record annual [...]
AB Foods hit by slowdown at Primark February 28, 2011 A SLOWDOWN at Primark’s British stores hit the shares of owner Associated British Foods (ABF) yesterday as tax rises and inflation squeezed consumer spending. The budget retailer’s like-for-like sales growth slowed to three per cent in its first half. Primark has been a star performer for the company but with materials like cotton spiralling in [...]
Chicago boom looks good for US factories February 28, 2011 CHICAGO’S purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached a 22-year high in February, surprising economists and boding well for today’s US-wide manufacturing results. The PMI hit 71.2 this month, driven upwards by growth in production and new orders, which reached their highest level – 75.9 – since 1983. All index scores above 50 indicate economic expansion. “This [...]