Downgrades dismissed by bullish buyers January 17, 2012 HEALTHY European bond auctions and strong German confidence figures pushed buoyant markets upwards yesterday as traders shrugged off a series of downgrades. Stocks and the euro shot up on the unexpectedly good figures, countering the negative sentiment led by Friday’s downgrades of eight European sovereigns’ debt by Standard & Poor’s. Despite losing its triple-A rating [...]
EC starts legal action in row with Hungary January 17, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against Hungary yesterday over the independence of its central bank, data protection authorities and judiciary. Hungary brought in legislation to increase the number of central bank directors and give politicians more control over their appointment at the beginning of the year, under its contentious new constitution. The commission [...]
Ruspetro IPO gets the nod January 17, 2012 THE Russian-based oil explorer Ruspetro became the first company in 2012 to get a London main market float off the ground yesterday as investors gave the thumbs-up to a $250m (£163m) fund-raising. Ruspetro priced the shares at 134p yesterday evening, towards the lower end of the range. But advisers said they were delighted with the [...]
Carnival flatlines as death toll rises January 17, 2012 SHARES in Carnival, the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, yesterday closed up only 1.6 per cent after suffering a 16.4 per cent fall on Monday. Details of the accident continued to emerge as divers found another five bodies, taking the death toll to 11, with 23 people still unaccounted for. The investigation [...]
Gold to reach $2,000 per oz January 17, 2012 GOLD may reach a record high above $2,000 an ounce in late 2012 or early 2013, but the precious metal is nearing the end of a decade-long run that has lifted prices by more than 600 per cent, metals consultancy GFMS said yesterday. Gold has been a top-performing asset since 2001 as portfolio diversification, concerns [...]
Visa Europe saw revenues jump above €1bn last year January 17, 2012 VISA EUROPE, which runs the biggest card payments system in the region, reported a 13 per cent rise in the number of transactions over its platform last year, accounting for a seventh of all consumer spending in Europe. The number of cards rose by 6.5 per cent to 445m and it processed 11.8bn transactions. The [...]
Essar Energy shares tumble after tax case January 17, 2012 ESSAR Energy lost more than a quarter of its market cap yesterday after the Indian courts overturned a 63bn rupee (£809m) tax ruling in its favour. In a move that took the markets by surprise, the Indian Supreme Court said Essar Oil, in which the London-listed firm owns an 87.1 per cent stake, will no [...]
Burberry sees sales surge as luxury booms January 17, 2012 BRITISH fashion house Burberry has posted a 21 per cent uplift in Christmas sales after high-spending tourists continued to flock to its flagship stores in search of its iconic trench-coats and leather goods. The 156 year-old firm said underlying sales rose to £574m in the three months to 31 December from £480m a year earlier, [...]
Dixons fights on despite decline in Christmas takings January 17, 2012 DIXONS RETAIL, Europe’s second largest electronics retailer, reported a decline in sales over the Christmas period, though it managed to improve its margins in spite of widespread discounting on the high street. The owner of Currys and PC World said sales at stores open more than a year fell by five per cent in the [...]
Matalan enjoys a boost in turnover but warns of a tougher year ahead January 17, 2012 MATALAN has warned of tough trading to come as consumers continue to feel the pinch, despite the firm posting a rise in like-for-like sales and delivering its best sales week since 2005. The out-of-town fashion and homeware retailer said like-for-like sales increased by 9.9 per cent in the five weeks to 31 December, up from [...]
