Germany sells £2.5bn of interest-free bonds August 22, 2012 Germany easily sold €4bn (£2.5bn) of new interest-free two-year bonds today, with investors edgy about European Central Bank (ECB) plans to curb the debt crisis, though demand was below this year’s average. Germany sold bonds with a zero coupon – meaning it pays no interest to the holder – for the second time this year, [...]
FTSE 100 dragged down by Eurozone woes August 22, 2012 The index was dragged down in early trading, as investors fretted over renewed uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone crisis. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is due to meet with Euro Group chief Jean-Claude Juncker today to discuss the country’s austerity plans. By far the biggest faller in the index in early trading was TT Electronics, down [...]
Lufthansa to make cabin crew pay offer August 22, 2012 Germany’s largest airline Lufthansa will present cabin crew with a new pay offer today that it believes should avert any massively disruptive strike action. The UFO cabin crew union, which represents 18,000 Lufthansa flight attendants, has been in dispute with the airline for 13 months on pay and conditions. The union last week said it [...]
Stagecoach chief executive to stand down August 22, 2012 Stagecoach chief executive Brian Souter will stand down and become the company’s chairman in May 2013, replacing George Mathewson who is retiring. The transport group also said it had traded well in its first quarter due to a strong performance from its British rail and US bus businesses. The Scotland-based company today said like-for-like revenues [...]
Dell’s outlook disappoints and PC market falters August 22, 2012 Dell warned of a challenging second half and slashed its full-year earnings outlook as customers cut back on computer purchases ahead of the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 software, sending its shares down more than four per cent. Dell – once the world’s top PC maker and a pioneer in computer supply chain management – [...]
Recession leads UK businesses to delay investment August 22, 2012 British businesses are delaying investment and employment decisions as fears about a prolonged recession are hurting their confidence, a survey by a major business lobby showed today. Britain has been mired in recession since late 2011 and the Bank of England has warned that the lack of confidence among businesses and consumers could lead to [...]
BHP Billiton delays £12.7bn Olympic Dam project August 22, 2012 Top global miner BHP Billiton shelved its planned $20bn (£12.7bn) Olympic Dam copper expansion today as it reported a 35 per cent slide in second-half profit in the biggest sign of the pain inflicted by the slowdown in China’s economic growth. BHP reported its first annual profit fall in three years in the face of [...]
Strike-hit Lonmin Ponders cash call August 21, 2012 CRISIS-HIT miner Lonmin is now considering a rights issue to shore up its balance sheet as crucial funding tests loom. The group earlier this week denied it would need to tap the capital markets for cash. Lonmin admitted the U-turn yesterday, saying it was “reviewing all the options available to strengthen its financial structure” to [...]
Polls punish Osborne as debts grow August 21, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s popularity fell to an all-time low yesterday as government borrowing ballooned despite promises to cut the deficit. Only 16 per cent now trust Osborne to see the UK through the recession – just half the number that supported him back in October 2010. Faith in the coalition government as a whole has also [...]
German banks want ECB to be lenders’ watchdog August 21, 2012 GERMAN lenders yesterday called upon the European Central Bank (ECB) to adopt supervisory powers over the Eurozone’s financial sector. Investors continue to expect the ECB to start snapping up the debt of struggling euro area member states, and now it is also being asked to take on a more proactive role as a banking watchdog. [...]
