Jessops turnaround plans help retailer present a rosier picture June 6, 2012 JESSOPS, the embattled camera specialist, said efforts to revamp its stores and improve its online presence had helped boost sales by three per cent to £236.8m last year. The retailer, which came close to collapse three years ago, reported that sales rose by three per cent to £236.8m in the year to 1 January, with [...]
CITY VIEWS | DO YOU THINK THE QUEEN’S DIAMOND JUBILEE WAS A SUCCESS FOR THE ECONOMY? June 6, 2012 LUCY RHODES BATES WELLS & BRAITHWAITE It got people out and about but having said that, the two days off didn’t do any favours for businesses. It’s good for shops and restaurants but probably bad for financial services in the City of London. PAT MOONEY BANK OF IRELAND It’s re-ignited the global interest in this [...]
Construction sector growth slows further June 6, 2012 CONSTRUCTION growth slowed in May, influential survey data showed yesterday, with confidence draining from firms operating in the sector. The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit fell to a three-month low of 54.4 – down from 55.8 in April, but still firmly above the “no change” level of 50. Commercial activity was the strongest [...]
Western exporters threatened by softening Chinese demand June 6, 2012 BRITAIN is well behind its competitors in taking advantage of China’s impressive growth over the last decade, a top economist said yesterday, and it “will not be easy” for UK firms and the government to rectify that as China’s import growth begins to slow. China’s growth has been largely investment led in the past decade, [...]
GDP boom for Oz as consumer spending rises June 6, 2012 THE AUSTRALIAN economy expanded more strongly than expected in the first quarter, booming at its fastest pace in more than four years. GDP rose 1.3 per cent in the first three months of 2012 – more than double the 0.5 per cent that had been forecast. That growth spurt followed a downwardly revised 0.6 per [...]
May’s sunshine boosts sales on the high street June 6, 2012 THE SUN came out for the British high street in May, as warmer weather gave a boost to the struggling shopping sector. Retail sales were up 1.3 per cent on a like-for-like annualised basis last month, bouncing back from a miserably rainy April in which like-for-likes had plummeted by 3.3 per cent compared to a [...]
Eurozone crisis pushes mergers and acquisitions to record low June 6, 2012 MERGER and acquisition (M&A) activity plummeted in the first quarter, official figures showed yesterday, as nervous firms slashed spending in the UK and abroad. UK firms spent just £0.7bn on acquisitions abroad in the first quarter, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – down 94 per cent from £12.6bn in the [...]
Derivatives regulators agree 15 new world-wide rules June 6, 2012 GLOBAL regulators agreed on minimum rules yesterday to shed light on the $700 trillion (£452 trillion) derivatives market, after being hamstrung by a dearth of information in the credit crunch, and to deter firms from moving trades to less regulated countries. The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a Madrid-based umbrella body for over 100 [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC NARROWLY IN FAVOUR OF HOLDING STEADY June 6, 2012 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “No change in rates or QE. Economic woes are not being caused by tight monetary policy. Rather, supply side reforms are still desperately needed, while on the demand side the restrictions on banks are holding back credit. The crisis can’t be solved with increasingly ultra-loose monetary tactics.” SIMON WARD | [...]
Pressures ease on new homeowners June 6, 2012 Falling interest rates have eased the pressure on mortgage holding twenty-somethings, according to a charity that helps people who are struggling to keep up with payments. The number of first time homeowners fell from 4,489 in 2009 to 3,008 in 2011, according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. “The number of homeowners in mortgage arrears [...]
