AB InBev faces sobering sales November 12, 2009 THE world’s biggest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, faces a sobering mix of falling sales and a falling thirst for beer in its major world markets. In a third quarter update yesterday, the recently-merged AB InBev, brewer of Stella Artois and Budweiser, said total beer volumes slumped 5.1 per cent to 106.6m hectolitres due to weakness in [...]
WH Smith braced for a competitive Christmas November 12, 2009 RETAILER WH Smith yesterday said it remains cautious about trading in the run up to Christmas after reporting a decline in sales in the first 10 weeks of the financial year. Total group sales in the period to 7 November dipped one per cent compared to the same period last year, while like-for-like sales at [...]
Asda launches price cuts as discount war hots up November 12, 2009 ASDA has raised the stakes in the Christmas price war by slashing £150m from the price of products in a discount drive designed to put pressure on its rivals. Asda, which has based its marketing on being the cheapest of the big four supermarkets, said consumers were still unwilling to part with cash. A day [...]
Eurozone industrial output posts healthy gains in third quarter November 12, 2009 EUROZONE industrial production rose again in September by 0.3 per cent on the previous month, raising hopes that tomorrow’s third quarter GDP figures for the region will see strong gains. The rise meant output in the three months to September was 2.2 per cent higher on the previous quarter and that the sector contributed slightly [...]
Jump in US mortgages but demand for new loans falls November 12, 2009 THE NUMBER of US mortgage applications went up last week as lower fixed rates increased the call for refinancing, but demand for new home loans fell to a nine-year low. Average 30-year mortgage rates fell 0.07 percentage point to 4.9 per cent in the week ended November 6, making a new run toward the record [...]
Amount of repossessions is set to go up November 12, 2009 FEWER homes will be repossessed this year than previously forecast, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday, but the body expects 2010 to see more repossessions. The CML lowered its forecast for the second time this year and now anticipates that 48,000 homes will be repossessed in 2009, just 8,000 more than in 2008. [...]
British Airways and Iberia merger sends FTSE soaring November 12, 2009 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 hit its highest close in three weeks yesterday as British Airways soared with investors cheered as a merger with Iberia looked imminent, while gains were also powered by strength in banks. But the rise was limited by falls in commodity prices hitting miners and energy stocks, which together constitute a third of [...]
Dow’s winning run ends as energy falls November 12, 2009 THE Dow industrials six-day winning streak came to a halt yesterday as a drop in oil prices pulled energy stocks lower and a guarded outlook from Wal-Mart fanned worries about consumer spending. Stocks were also undermined by a US dollar rally, as its safe-haven appeal rose after several policymakers around the world warned the economic [...]
LICENCED TO SELL November 12, 2009 THE former Midland Bank headquarters – which was the setting for the Fort Knox vault in 1964 Bond film Goldfinger – has been sold for £40m to an anonymous buyer. The building, located opposite the Bank of England, was owned by a Russian investor who wanted to convert the 291,573 sq ft bank into a [...]
City conference to debate means of responsible asset management November 12, 2009 CITY leaders have banded together to hold a conference on responsible asset management in the wake of the financial crisis. Hosts the City of London Corporation and Hermes Fund Managers said “the financial crisis has highlighted the need for institutional investors to promote a sustainable financial system and be more actively engaged with the assets [...]
