Facebook hit hard as Farmville creator Zynga misses targets July 25, 2012 ONLINE gaming giant Zynga last night said that it had badly missed its financial targets, sending its share price down more than 40 per cent in after-hours trading. The announcement from the creator of the Farmville and Cityville games dragged down shares of social networking firm Facebook, which relies on Zynga for around 15 per [...]
EU regulators get tough on fund mangers July 25, 2012 EUROPEAN fund firms could lose out on revenues under new EU rules to toughen up supervision of securities lending published yesterday. Securities lending is commonplace in the mutual fund industry globally as a means of boosting revenue as well as reducing management fees. Under European markets watchdog ESMA’s proposals, all revenues generated by securities lending [...]
Estimates show GDP down 0.7pc in last quarter July 25, 2012 THE UK’S economy tanked in the second quarter, worsening the country’s double dip recession, according to preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released yesterday. GDP fell 0.7 per cent over the quarter, compared to a consensus expectation of 0.2 per cent, according to the preliminary estimate, which computes about 40 per cent [...]
How can GDP be shrinking so fast when employment numbers seem to be recovering ? July 25, 2012 Q Why is there doubt at all? A The relatively sharp quarterly tumble in GDP, of 0.7 per cent, seems incongruous with the reassuring jobs figures for the three months to May, when employment grew 181,000, and unemployment dropped 65,000. If employment has grown rapidly but output has fallen, then productivity must have seen a [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THE GDP FIGURES? July 25, 2012 ANDREW GOODWIN ITEM CLUB It would be easy to get carried away … but the reality is that the Diamond Jubilee bank holidays have wreaked havoc with the data. The ONS has effectively said that output fell by almost three per cent … between May and June because of the movement of the late-May bank [...]
Billionaire Li Ka Shing snaps up Wales & West July 25, 2012 BILLIONAIRE business magnate Li Ka Shing grabbed another slice of the UK’s utility infrastructure network yesterday by snapping up gas distribution firm Wales & West Utilities (WWU). Li, estimated to be the richest man in Hong Kong and ninth richest in the world, will take control of WWU through a consortium owned by his holding [...]
Wind turbine subsidy cut as gas gets boost July 25, 2012 GAS producers are set to receive a £500m tax break, while there will be a 10 per cent cut in the subsidies provided for onshore wind turbines, the government announced yesterday. It is understood that the Treasury was keen to cut wind turbine subsidies by 25 per cent but Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey successfully [...]
Superman’s utility stakes stretch across the country July 25, 2012 Northumbrian Water Group Stake 100 per cent Area covered 12,260 sq km People served 4.4m Northern Gas Networks Stake 88 per cent Area covered 25,000 sq km People served 6.7m UK Power Networks Stake 100 per cent Area covered 29,000 sq km People served 8m Southern Water Stake 4.75 per cent Area covered 4,450 sq [...]
Arm defies the chip slowdown as profits leap July 25, 2012 ARM Holdings posted a jump in earnings yesterday, as the British chip designer continued to outperform the rest of the industry. The company beat forecasts for the three months to July, reporting a 23 per cent rise in year-on-year profits in the face of poor recent performances from its rival Intel and chipmaker Qualcomm, which [...]
BT rocked by fall in European contracts as shares plummet July 25, 2012 SHARES in BT slumped yesterday as the extent of the telecoms operator’s European woes were laid bare, with the firm announcing a six per cent drop in revenues. BT’s lossmaking global services arm, which provides phone and internet services to multinational corporations and governments, saw contracts dry up in the three months to July, with [...]
