Elson denied first win by Grace January 15, 2012 England’s Jamie Elson narrowly failed to claim his maiden European Tour victory after South Africa’s Branden Grace hung on to win the Johannesburg Open by a single shot. Elson carded a nine-under-par 63 to give him the clubhouse lead all afternoon, but Grace kept his nerve on the back nine to card a steady final [...]
France to lose triple-A rating January 13, 2012 France has been notified that its triple-A rating with agency Standard & Poor’s has been downgraded by one notch and will step up reforms to shore up its economy, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said on Friday. “I confirm that France has received, like most euro zone countries, a notification of a change of its [...]
Tesco executive sold shares before profit warning January 13, 2012 Tesco’s UK operations chief sold stock just over a week before a profit warning sent shares in the world’s third-biggest retailer plunging, a regulatory filing shows. Noel “Bob” Robbins, UK chief operating officer, sold 50,000 shares at 404.51 pence apiece on 4 January, netting around £202,000, according to a filing published on January 5. That [...]
Npower to cut gas prices by 5pc January 13, 2012 Energy supplier Npower says it will cut gas prices by five per cent from 1 February. The move comes in the same week as three other major suppliers announced price cuts, T to reflect a dip in wholesale prices during the mild winter. British Gas has cut its electricity prices by five per cent with [...]
JP Morgan reports lower profits January 13, 2012 JPMorgan Chase & Co reported lower fourth-quarter earnings down 23 per cent as the European debt crisis weighed on trading and corporate deal-making. The first major Us bank to announce results for the period, JPMorgan said net income was $3.72bn (£2.43bn), or 90 cents a share, compared with $4.83bn, or $1.12 a share, a year [...]
Lloyds boss will not take 2011 bonus January 13, 2012 Lloyds Banking Group Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio has waived his bonus for 2011 due to a two-month absence, the bank’s performance and the tough economic circumstances faced by its customers. The bonus could have been worth £2.4m for Horta-Osorio, who will get basic pay of £1.1m He may also get £4.5m in a long-term plan [...]
Banks lead FTSE up after bond auctions boost January 13, 2012 Banks led the FTSE 100 up this morning as they were buoyed by tentative signs of recovery in the Eurozone. European shares and the single currency rose after positive comments on the region’s outlook from the European Central Bank and the success of Spain’s bond auction yesterday. Meanwhile Italy launched a €4.75bn bond auction today. [...]
Italy’s borrowing costs drop at auction January 13, 2012 Italy’s three-year debt costs fell below five per cent at the first bond auction of the year spurring hopes the troubled borrower would be able to make it through a refinancing hump in the first months of the year. Domestic demand fuelled by cheap European Central Bank funds allowed Italy to raise the maximum planned [...]
Factory gate inflation lower than expected in December January 13, 2012 Factory gate inflation fell more than expected in December, official data showed, boosting expectations that the Bank of England will inject more stimulus into the struggling economy soon. The Office for National Statistics said producer output price inflation slowed to 4.8 per cent on the year from 5.4 percent in November, a bigger drop than [...]
Ted Baker reports strong Christmas January 13, 2012 British designer brand Ted Baker said it would meet forecasts for year profit after a sharp rise in sales over the Christmas period put it firmly in the festive winners’ camp. The group said on Friday its retail sales increased 15.7 per cent in the eight weeks to 7 January driven by a 7.3 per [...]
