First Property plots UK return June 2, 2009 AIM-listed First Property Group yesterday announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2009, reporting pre-tax profit of £3.22m in comparison with profit of £4.66m in the previous year. The central and east European property fund said it was sizing up a return to the UK market as confidence returns to the [...]
Housing data gives US markets a boost June 2, 2009 US stocks rose for the fourth straight day yesterday as an upbeat report on sales of previously owned US homes bolstered hopes for an economic recovery. But a sell-off in financials on worries about the dilutive impact of recent stock offerings limited a broad advance. An index of pending sales of previously owned US homes [...]
Cheap booze risks overstated June 2, 2009 The impact of cheap alcohol on heavy and hazardous drinkers has been overestimated according to a report out today by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The report claims that moderate drinkers are seriously overpaying for the government’s policy on alcohol where the benefits of increased prices such as reductions in health, crime, [...]
Acer to launch a Google laptop June 2, 2009 Acer, the world’s third-biggest PC brand, said yesterday it plans to sell netbook PCs that run on Google’s Android operating software in the third quarter of this year. The announcement is a major coup for Google, which is pushing into software and services, to complement its online advertising revenues. But the news will come as [...]
Technicals will help you profit from bullish cable outlook June 2, 2009 IN January sterling was the whipping boy of the currency markets, culminating in near-parity with the euro and investors like Jim Rogers proposed dollar parity in 2009. But what a difference six months can make. Yesterday sterling hit another seven-month high against the dollar – up 20 per cent on the pair’s January lows. But [...]
Omega in Names offer June 2, 2009 OMEGA Insurance plans to boost its exposure to Lloyds of London, spending up to £125m buying out Names who are members of the insurance market’s successful Syndicate 958. Omega already has a 16 per cent stake in Syndicate 958, which has turned a profit every year since 1980. It is offering to pay private investors [...]
Premium food brands are staging a comeback June 2, 2009 AFTER the extensive coverage that the ascent of the discounter retailers received throughout 2008, it may come as a surprise to hear that the trend has been reversing for the past six months. From the beginning of January 2008 through to mid-November, the value-brand supermarkets of Aldi, Lidl, Netto and Somerfield achieved an average uplift [...]
SEC creates new senior position in bid to improve its reputation June 2, 2009 THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is to create a position of chief operating officer to help manage the regulator and improve internal operations, its chairman Mary Schapiro said yesterday. Schapiro said she was in the process of reviewing the SEC’s operations, including how it manages its records and call centres, to ensure it [...]
INFLATION NO THREAT TO THE DOLLAR June 2, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT OVER the past two weeks, the US dollar has been battered from all sides, hitting yearly lows against the euro, pound and all Commonwealth currencies. Economic data has shown steady improvement, giving investors more confidence to move their capital into higher-yielding, riskier currencies. But the growing fear that US [...]
Intermediate Capital sinks to first loss June 2, 2009 INTERMEDIATE Capital Group (ICG), which lends money to buyout firms, has fallen to the first loss in its history as bad debts mounted amid the financial crisis. The specialist financier suffered a pre-tax loss of £67m in the year ending 31 March, a dramatic reversal from the £230m profit it booked in the previous year. [...]
