Best of the Brokers September 4, 2012 PETROFAC Credit Suisse upgraded oilfield services group Petrofac’s share rating to “outperform” from “neutral” with an increased target price of 1,800p, up from 1,750p. It believes Petrofac has performed poorly on a lack of project awards over the summer period but said “the next few months will be better”, and expects awards step up, thanks [...]
FTSE loses 1.5pc with investors not holding breath over ECB’s summit September 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday reflecting investor uncertainty over whether this week’s key European Central Bank (ECB) meeting will deliver the goods on a hoped for bond-buying scheme designed to ease the euro debt crisis. The FTSE 100 closed down 86.40 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,672.01, ending back below the 5,700 level [...]
US markets await action in Eurozone September 4, 2012 THE S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average closed slightly lower yesterday as investors continued to await clarity on European Central Bank plans to shore up heavily indebted countries, but the market ended off its lows on a rally in Apple shares. The Dow Jones was down 54.90 points, or 0.42 per cent, at [...]
Hunt needs a radical NHS vision to survive in the worst job in politics September 4, 2012 JEREMY Hunt has just accepted one of the toughest jobs in British politics. Coming from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the Department of Health, he moves from a department with a total budget of £2bn to one that spends £100bn each year. His new brief involves running one of the largest organisations [...]
More public spending is unlikely to multiply into stronger economic growth September 4, 2012 THE debate rages on about whether the chancellor should implement a Plan B, or C or D, or even Z. There’s a plethora of alternatives for George Osborne to choose from, but many of them share a key common theme: that an increase in public spending will boost overall output in the economy. This was [...]
Britain can finally make the dash for gas with Paterson September 4, 2012 DAVID Cameron has promised to end his government’s “dithering” and “paralysis”. As part of this, yesterday’s reshuffle was intended to kick-start new initiatives for reviving Britain’s flagging economy. One of the key political battle grounds in coming months will be the growing divergence between an outdated green agenda and a new push for environmental deregulation [...]
As David Cameron completes the coalition’s first major reshuffle, will it prove successful? September 4, 2012 YES Alex Singleton Yesterday’s reshuffle will reinvigorate the government in three ways. First, by booting the ultra-liberal Ken Clarke out from Justice, David Cameron has regained control over a key part of government policy. Secondly, the fresh face at the Department for International Development, Justine Greening, will help shake up a department that continues to [...]
Rapid Responses September 4, 2012 Seat inequality [Re: Clegg’s veto of fairer seats is more important than the reshuffle, yesterday] The staggering inequality in Britain’s voting system was never highlighted better than when Tony Blair won his 66 seat majority in 2005. In terms of votes cast, the Tories won the most votes in England. And yet, Labour went on to [...]
The new Beetle is vastly improved September 4, 2012 MORE power. Less flower” is the marketing message for Volkswagen’s latest Beetle, a car that has been created to be more dynamic and exciting. And it is – more than the original Beetle ever was, and certainly a good deal better than the last one. The dashboard vase – a homage to the original Beetle [...]
Australia are masters of dark arts, Gatland warns his Lions September 4, 2012 BRITISH and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland has fanned the flames ahead of next summer’s tour of Australia by accusing his opponents of being masters of off-field chicanery. Gatland, who was yesterday finally confirmed as Sir Ian McGeechan’s successor, warned that a Wallabies team who reached last year’s World Cup semi-finals would not be [...]
