FTSE 100 down on weak Chinese data September 20, 2012 The FTSE 100 fell in early trading this morning, as the miners that rose on the blue chip index yesterday fell on weak manufacturing data from China, which spurred concerns about demand for the oil and metals market. Miner Ferrexpo, steelmaker Evraz and Aquarius Platinum led the fallers, down 5.5, 5.37 and 4.92 per cent [...]
United Utilities confident on targets September 20, 2012 Waste and water group United Utilities said in a trading update today that it is on course to deliver good financial performance for the year. The firm, which is currently the target of takeover bid speculation, said current trading is in line with group expectations. Revenue in the year to the end of March 2013 [...]
Deutsche Bank to sell BHF to Kleinwort Benson September 20, 2012 Deutsche Bank has agreed the sale of its BHF Bank unit to private equity investor Kleinwort Benson for €384m (£307m). The deal still needs to be approved by the German regulator BaFin and is subject to closing purchase price agreements. RHJ International, the parent company of Kleinwort Benson, and Deutsche Bank agreed on the major [...]
Imperial Tobacco sees revenue rise September 20, 2012 Imperial Tobacco expects revenues to be up around four per cent over the past year to end of September, with strong sales in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East and Asia Pacific boosting profits. The British group, which sells over 340bn cigarettes annually of brands such as Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS and West, expects volume [...]
BSkyB is a “fit and proper” broadcaster September 20, 2012 BSkyB is “fit and proper” to hold a broadcasting licence, watchdog Ofcom said today. The watchdog launched an investigation last year after allegations of phone hacking at BskyB’s biggest shareholder News Corp. The investigation by Ofcom, which has clashed repeatedly with BSkyB in the past, had hung over the hugely successful group and raised the [...]
Bloomberg’s beast of a relay September 19, 2012 If the Olympics has left you itching to bask in your own bit of athletic glory but without putting in the hours, there’s still time to enter Bloomberg’s Square Mile Relay this Thursday. And with 10 miles per ten-man team, you only have to go flat out for a mile in your attempt to win [...]
FTSE 100 rebounds on Japan’s stimulus September 19, 2012 The blue chip index opened up this morning, as investors were encouraged by the Bank of Japan’s decision to extend its asset purchase programme by 10 trillion yen. Miners led the index up in early trading, as investors were also buoyed by the end of the strike at Lonmin’s Marikana mine. Ferrexpo added 4.74 per [...]
Bank of England warns inflation could fall less rapidly than expected September 19, 2012 The Bank of England sees a worsening outlook for inflation, minutes from its September meeting showed this morning, as the members voted unanimously to keep the base rate at 0.5 per cent. The central bank said increased oil prices, which rose eight per cent on the month, and the threat of higher food and utility [...]
Japan Airlines makes modest market return September 19, 2012 Japan Airlines re-listed in Tokyo today, with its shares closing one per cent above the IPO price. The $8.5bn (£5.2bn) IPO, the second-biggest listing this year, comes less than three years after the carrier collapsed into bankruptcy. Shares in Japan Airlines opened around three per cent higher than the IPO price of 3,790 yen, and [...]
Bank of Japan eases monetary policy September 19, 2012 The Bank of Japan boosted its asset purchase programme today, following similar moves from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Japan’s central bank, with the aim of boosting its flagging economy, today increased its asset programme to 80 trillion yen (£623bn) from 70 trillion yen. The 10 trillion yen increase will be spent [...]
