Public borrowing hits 2011/12 target April 24, 2012 The public sector budget deficit was higher than expected in March, but downward revisions in previous months enabled the government to meet its full-year target, the Office for National Statistics said. The Office for National Statistics said public sector net borrowing excluding financial sector interventions – the government’s preferred measure – rose last month to [...]
AB Foods buoyed by Primark April 24, 2012 Associated British Foods forecast a “substantial” rise in full-year earnings as under-pressure British shoppers turned to its Primark discount fashion stores and it benefited from high sugar prices in the first half of its financial year. The London-based food and retailing group said earnings per share rose five per cent to 34.4 pence in the [...]
Arm receives first quarter lift from licences April 24, 2012 ARM, the British company whose technology powers Apple’s iPad, met market expectations with a 22 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, helped by growth in chip-makers licensing its energy efficient designs. The company reported adjusted pretax profit of £61.9m on revenue 14 per cent higher at 132.5 million pounds, both in line with forecasts. Cambridge-based [...]
Shell to buy Cove energy for $1.8bn April 24, 2012 Royal Dutch Sheld said it agreed to buy oil explorer Cove Energy in a $1.8bn (£1.12bn) cash deal, after the major raised its previous offer to match a rival bid from Thailand’s PTT. Shell said it would pay 220 pence for each Cove share and that the deal was conditional upon approval from the government [...]
Facebook reveals income slip ahead of IPO April 24, 2012 Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network’s sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO. The company blamed the first-quarter decline, which surprised some on Wall Street, on seasonal advertising trends. Spending roughly doubled [...]
Merger Monday April 23, 2012 A SURGE in dealmaking offered some much-needed cheer to the City yesterday as blue-chip firms brushed off fears over political uncertainty and the sovereign debt crisis. Mobile phone giant Vodafone moved closer to sealing a hotly anticipated £1bn buyout of Cable & Wireless Worldwide on a day when corporates in baby food, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and [...]
Strife in the Eurozone hits markets April 23, 2012 POLITICAL upheaval and gloomy economic data knocked markets in Europe yesterday, as investors grow increasingly concerned with the outlook for the continent. A business survey for the Eurozone showed an even faster pace of recession than expected, dampening early sentiment. The mood was worsened by news of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendering his resignation, [...]
Profligate states accused of hijacking credit system April 23, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT was accused of “hijacking” the credit system to fund its own “profligacy” by HSBC’s chief economist yesterday. In a research note, Stephen King slams Western governments, including the US and the UK, for rigging the credit system so that they can “jump to the front of the credit queue” and impose low borrowing rates for [...]
Boris is being dragged down by coalition’s many mistakes April 23, 2012 IF Boris Johnson loses the London mayoral election next week, he will have just two men to blame: David Cameron and George Osborne. Yesterday’s latest poll showing the London candidates in a statistical dead heat – Boris on 51 per cent including second preferences, and Ken Livingstone on 49 per cent – can only be [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EX-CALPERS CHIEF ACCUSED OF FRAUD The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused Federico Buenrostro, former chief executive of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and a friend of fabricating documents designed to show that $20m in fees paid by Apollo to Arvco, a “placement agent”, for help securing the pension fund’s investment had [...]
