Can hybrid platforms give brokers the edge? May 6, 2010 ELECTRONIC trading technology has come a long way in a short space of time. It is now crucial to the broking business and, according to research from Execution Noble, offers operating margins of 40 per cent compared with 20 per cent for traditional voice broking. Based on those figures – not to mention the fact [...]
Service sector hit by ash and election May 6, 2010 ACTIVITY in Britain’s services sector in April failed to match the storming performance seen by manufacturers, a leading survey showed yesterday. Although output continued to expand, the Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed a slowdown in the pace of growth. The PMI index fell to 55.3 from 56.5 against expectations for a further rise. [...]
Bovis says house prices are on the up but warns of an uncertain year to come May 6, 2010 BOVIS Homes said yesterday it had sold houses at prices slightly ahead of its expectations so far this year. However, it warned the general election had created uncertainty in the housing market and that a recovery was too early to call. Chief executive David Ritchie said: “We expect trading to continue to be stable, although [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 6, 2010 SAGE Nomura reiterates its “buy” rating on Sage after the group reported half year figures, showing top line dynamics across all geographies improving. Nomura has increased its earnings per share by roughly five per cent, which, it says reflects the slightly better revenue dynamics seen in the first half, currency effect and savings. ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV [...]
Number of pay freezes falls May 6, 2010 The number of pay freezes dropped during the first three months of the year, but still made up one third of pay settlements, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS). Research found that 31 per cent of pay settlements during the period saw no changes made. The number of pay rises climbed incrementally to [...]
Morgan Sindall sees good start May 6, 2010 Construction firm Morgan Sindall said its forward order book has increased since the start of the year from £3.2bn to £3.6bn, signalling a positive start to the year. Morgan Sindall said it was trading in line with it’s expectations and that the group’s urban regeneration division’s development pipeline remained at £1.4bn.
Nokia board supports strategy May 6, 2010 The chairman of Nokia said its management had the board’s full support as it moves the world’s top mobile phone maker away from hardware and toward offering services. Nokia has started to build a new business by offering Internet services ranging from music downloads to e-mail, but these have gained little traction so far. Management [...]
FTSE falls for fourth day as fears over scale of Greek crisis continue to weigh May 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell for the fourth straight session yesterday, led by banks and miners weighed by uncertainty over euro zone debt concerns, as Britain’s electorate went to the polls. The FTSE 100 index closed down 80.94 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,260.99 just above a support level of 5,259 given by analysts. The [...]
Wall Street plunges as trading glitch suspected May 6, 2010 US stocks plunged nine per cent in the last two hours of trading yesterday before clawing back some of the losses as the escalating debt crisis in Europe stoked fears a new credit crunch was in the making. The Dow suffered its biggest ever intraday point drop, which may have been caused by an erroneous [...]
Choosing the most suitable card is not a zero-sum game May 6, 2010 WHEN Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank announced earlier this week their offer of 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for the first 16 months, it threw the cat among the pigeons. The two banks, both UK subsidiaries of National Australia Bank, leapt straight to the top of the best-buy comparison tables with the deal, [...]
