More jobs axed at Corus as steel demand plunges July 9, 2009 STEELMAKER Corus said yesterday it was planning to cut a further 366 jobs at its Scunthorpe plant, taking the total for the group to nearly 5,000 this year. The news comes a week after the group axed 2,000 posts throughout the UK, as the recession leads to a slump in the demand for steel. Corus [...]
US jobless claims back to Jan level July 9, 2009 THE number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since January, however the seasonally adjusted data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry. Economists watch the labour market closely for signs that the impact of the most severe recession in decades is fading, [...]
Individual Restaurant Co beats share sale targets July 9, 2009 INDIVIDUAL Restaurant Company, the group behind the Restaurant Bar and Grill and Piccolino chains, yesterday said it has beaten its target of raising £2.1m with a share sale. The firm took the opportunity to place a further 3,950,216 shares – the 10 per cent maximum amount it was granted at its recent annual meeting – [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 9, 2009 F&C Asset ManagementThe asset manager has appointed Jacob De Wit and Richard Wilson (pictured), respectively head of fixed income and head of equities at the firm, to its executive committee following its de-merger from Friends Provident. The news follows the appointment of Kieran Poynter, the former chairman of accountancy firm PwC, and former Henderson Group [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 9, 2009 ADMIRALAdmiral’s recent underperformance makes them an attractive prospect, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, who upgraded it to a “buy” recommendation. Admiral’s stock has underperformed the sector by 11 per cent over the past three months, but Merrill Lynch believe Admiral’s near term trading outlook appears robust, and the insurance firm’s returns should be [...]
Quantitative easing won’t be extended July 9, 2009 THE Bank of England (BoE) announced yesterday no further expansion of its quantitative easing scheme (QE), surprising markets which had widely expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to boost QE by another £25bn. The Bank left rates on hold at 0.5 per cent for the fourth month running and said that it would review the [...]
Google is not the only challenger to Microsoft July 9, 2009 GOOGLE opened yet another front in its war on Microsoft earlier this week by announcing the launch of its new PC operating system. Chrome will compete directly with Microsoft’s sacred cash cow, Windows, which accounted for around 45 per cent of the software giant’s $22.5bn operating profit last year. Google’s decision to take on Microsoft [...]
Online casino gains keep PartyGaming winning despite the summer slowdown July 9, 2009 ONLINE gambling firm PartyGaming saw its shares rise yesterday by two per cent after the group announced that strong returns at its casino division have kept revenues since 6 April in line with the first quarter. Chief executive Jim Ryan said that the group’s casino branch “continues to go from strength to strength”, despite the [...]
Government helps drive up Chinese vehicle sales July 9, 2009 CAR sales in China jumped emphatically by 48.5 per cent for the month of June, bucking the worldwide trend, the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers announced yesterday. China recently overtook the US to become the world’s largest car market, and the nation’s thriving industry stands in stark contrast to car markets in the West which [...]
GRINDING DOWN July 9, 2009 ADMINISTRATOR KPMG yesterday said 10 of the 20 outlets directly owned by coffee chain Coffee Republic had shut their doors with the loss of 66 jobs. The group collapsed into administration on Tuesday after it was hit by consumers scaling back on discretionary spending. KPMG yesterday said it was now in talks with potential buyers [...]
