Scottish independence: Most Scots say 2014 Commonwealth Games have not helped Yes vote August 3, 2014 Scottish nationalists’ hope for a post-Commonwealth Games bounce yesterday appeared to be mislaid , according to a survation/Mail on Sunday poll. Despite a record medal haul for Scotland’s athletes, 89 per cent of respondents said that the Glasgow Games would not increase the chance of a Yes vote in the 18 September referendum. The news [...]
Germany is in favour of tough Russia sanctions, despite cost August 3, 2014 German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel yesterday said that tough economic sanctions against Russia were necessary despite them likely to hurt his country’s economy. The EU imposed sanctions on Russia’s banking, defence and energy sectors because its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Despite extensive trade ties with Russia, Chancellor Angela Merkel is a firm advocate of [...]
Construction body sees industry adding about £11bn to UK economy August 3, 2014 The Construction Products Association will today forecast that the industry will grow about 10 per cent and add about £11bn to the economy over the next two years. Among its other forecasts, the association expects construction output to grow 4.7 per cent in 2014 and 4.8 per cent in 2015, and total output to rise [...]
More than 350 killed in quake August 3, 2014 MORE than 350 people died yesterday when a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit Yunnan province in south western China. An additional 180 people were missing and 1,400 injured in the quake that caused thousands of buildings, including a school, to collapse. The US Geological Survey said the quake registered at a shallow depth of less than [...]
GM seeking new China suppliers after factory blast kills 69 people August 3, 2014 US MOTOR giant GM yesterday announced that it had asked its main Chinese supplier to find an alternative source of components after an explosion ripped through a factory a day earlier, killing at least 69 people. About 200 people were also injured in the blast at the Zhongrong Metal Product plant in Kunshan city, about 1,000km, south east [...]
Chinese PMI reveals a fall August 3, 2014 CHINA’S official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector slowed to 54.2 in July from June,s 55 – the weakest reading since January. The set of data has taken some of the shine off an industry that has been a bright spot in the Chinese economy this year. However, a reading above 50 in [...]
Google’s mystery barge sold for scrap August 3, 2014 Google’s mysterious floating barge project – which drew speculation last year when three barges in Portland and San Francisco were found to be owned by the search giant – has been scrapped. Google eventually confirmed the barges would be floating showrooms for its latest technology, such as Google Glass. However, Google has now sold off [...]
Best of the Brokers for 04 August 2014 August 3, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BARCLAYS Berenberg has upgraded the bank’s rating to “hold”, saying it no longer has “enough downside to justify a sell recommendation”. The broker says Barclays has the potential to emerge as a long-term winner, but adds that it does not think the current [...]
London Report: All eyes on Standard Life ahead of next month’s Scot vote August 3, 2014 WITH the Scottish independence referendum about six weeks away, Standard Life’s half-year results tomorrow will make for interesting reading. In February, it was first major Scottish firm to warn it was drawing up contingency plans in the event of a “Yes” vote. Today HSBC Holdings, Fidessa, Telecity, Alent, Morgan Sindall, Ultra Electronics Holdings, esure and [...]
The Week Ahead: US analysts still bullish August 3, 2014 WALL Street’s worst week in two years was enough to get investors worried about whether a long-overdue correction is coming, but analysts are still leaning bullish going into the new week. The market is undoubtedly ripe for a correction – the current rally has continued for nearly three years without a decline of more than [...]
