The perfect storm July 16, 2008 Higher than expected inflation figures and growing concerns about the banking sector knocked London’s FTSE 100 index of leading stocks down 2.4 per cent yesterday to under 5,200. The benchmark index has now fallen 23 per cent since a June 2007 high and is in clear bear market territory. Bank stocks, unsettled by fears that [...]
Brown’s latest bid to curb knife crime July 16, 2008 Up to 20,000 families will be given intensive support to help get their wayward children back on track as part of a £100m government plan to curb youth crime, the Home Office has announced. The widely trailed programme was unveiled amid mounting concern over knife crime following a spate of stabbing deaths in London. Opposition [...]
Capital & Regional set to sell fresh assets after its funds slump in value July 16, 2008 Co-investing property fund manager Capital & Regional hinted yesterday that further sales of its assets were likely, as it moves to cope with the slump in the property market. The company, which is one of the biggest property asset managers in the country and owns a number of large shopping centres and out of town [...]
Kazakhmys dismisses reverse takeover talk July 16, 2008 Copper mining giant Kazakhmys, which is in talks with fellow Russian miner Metalloinvest, has denied a deal would involve a reverse takeover. A reverse takeover would have involved privately owned Metalloinvest acquiring the FTSE 100 Kazakh miner and keeping the list on London’s benchmark index of leading shares. But yesterday Kazakhmys rejected this. One of [...]
Inflation could hit 6 per cent on fuel bill price hike July 16, 2008 Inflation could reach 6 per cent by the end of the year if an anticipated 30 per cent hike in energy bills hits consumers later this year, according to BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke. His prediction comes after the official consumer price index inflation rate jumped to a record 3.8 per cent in the year [...]
Dwain court case delayed July 15, 2008 Great Britain’s squad for the Beijing Olympics was announced yesterday, but the sprinting line-up will not be named until Thursday, when Dwain Chambers’ case against a lifetime ban is heard in the High Court. Simeon Williamson was the only male 100m runner included in the draft squad, but Chambers and one other will join him [...]
Develop your tactics to win in hard times July 15, 2008 When the going gets tough, the tough stick to their trading strategies, says Katie Hope Everybody harbours a secret desire to be an investment legend. The so-called “Sage of Omaha” Warren Buffett, George Soros, whom it is obligatory to refer to as “the man who broke the Bank of England” and even fictional red-braced trader [...]
PM accused of U-turn on knife crime July 15, 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday people carrying knives would be “caught, prosecuted and punished” as he defended the government’s handling of knife crime following a spate of stabbing deaths. But his message was overshadowed over claims from opposition parties that the government had already backtracked from a “half-baked” policy to force those caught with [...]
St Modwen falls into red July 15, 2008 Commercial and residential property company St Modwen saw the value of its portfolio plunge £65.5m and said the industry was facing its toughest test since 1990. St Modwen lurched into the red, posting a loss of £20m compared to a profit of £65.1m the year before. “We are reporting on what has been the most [...]
Political hurdle for Kazakh deal July 15, 2008 Analysts yesterday warned the political risks were “too great” for a possible merger between Kazakh miner Kazakhmys and fellow Russian miner Metalloinvest, the company founded by billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov. Shares in Kazakhmys rose more than 6 per cent after news that Metalloinvest, which mines 40 per cent of Russia’s iron ore, was exploring a [...]
