Banking shares buoy FTSE 100 October 17, 2012 The blue chip index opened marginally up this morning, buoyed by financials and miners. Investors were lifted by the latest unemployment figures, which show the number of jobless fell by 50,000 in the three months to August. On the leading index, Evraz, Eurasian Natural Resources, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and Rio Tinto [...]
Unemployment dips to 7.9 per cent October 17, 2012 UK jobless numbers fell by 50,000 over the three months to September, marking a 7.9 per cent unemployment rate. Official figures out this morning from the Office for National Statistics show that the employment rate edged up by 0.5 per cent over the period, at 71.3 per cent of the population. The statistics office added [...]
Copper output falls at Xstrata October 17, 2012 Copper production at miner Xstrata dipped by 16 per cent year on year in the third quarter, hurt by falling production at its Collahuasi mine in Chile. Xstrata, which is currently in the final throes of a merger with commodity giant Glencore, said total production of copper fell to 187,800 tonnes over the three months [...]
BHP Billiton iron ore output edges up October 17, 2012 Australian miner BHP Billiton this morning reported a one per cent rise in iron ore output to 39,772 tonnes over the three months to September. Coal output dropped four per cent year on year to 8,938 tonnes. The miner warned this morning it was less likely it would expand its coal operations in Australia due [...]
RBS to leave Asset Protection Scheme October 17, 2012 RBS said this morning it would leave the government’s Asset Protection Scheme from tomorrow. The high-street bank will have paid £2.5bn for its participation in the scheme, which capped potential losses on almost £300bn of its most toxic assets after its bailout in 2008. It has also paid around £1.5bn to HM Treasury for liquidity [...]
FTSE 100 up on banking and mining shares October 16, 2012 The blue chip index was up this morning, as investors reacted more positively to US macroeconomic data, consolidating gains in Asia and the US. Mining and banking stocks pushed the FTSE 100 up in early trading, with Lloyds, Evraz, Kazakhmys and Antofagasta leading the blue chip index. Insurer CPP Group topped the FTSE All-Share index [...]
Inflation falls to lowest level in almost three years October 16, 2012 Consumer price inflation fell to 2.2 per cent in September, the lowest level since November 2009. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics said this morning that the rate of inflation fell from 2.5 per cent in August, largely due to the effects from September 2011’s utility bill rises dropping off. The ONS said [...]
European car slowdown weighs on GKN October 16, 2012 Engineering firm GKN this morning reported broadly flat pre-tax profit in the third quarter, as it said challenging European markets were weighing on its business. GKN, which makes parts for cars and planes, reported pre-tax profit for the third quarter of £99m, down from £100m in the third quarter of last year. Revenue increased to [...]
Smiths News reports profit jump October 16, 2012 Newspaper and magazine wholesaler Smiths News this morning posted a 23 per cent increase in pre-tax profit for the year to 31 August. Smiths called it a “robust performance” in “challenging market conditions”, helped by the performance of recent acquisitions in the book, education and care market. Smiths has been diversifying away from newspapers and [...]
William Hill and GVC agree terms for Sportingbet takeover October 16, 2012 Bookmaker William Hill and GVC Holdings said this morning they had reached an agreement over the terms of the takeover of online betting firm Sportingbet. The proposal values each Sportingbet share at 61.1p, up from a previous 52.5p. It comprises 48.9p in cash, 1.1p dividend in cash and 0.0475 new GVC Holdings shares per Sportingbet [...]
