Supermarket price wars trigger slowdown in retail sales in May June 9, 2014 PRICE cuts by Britain’s big four supermarkets hit retail sales in May despite clothing retailers reporting their strongest growth in more than two years. Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG this morning show that like-for-like UK retail sales were up 0.5 per cent in May compared with the same month last year, [...]
Euro investors report June dip in confidence June 9, 2014 INVESTOR confidence in the Eurozone fell to a six-month low in June, with results showing a drop for the second consecutive month. The Sentix Investor Confidence index, a survey of 1,600 financial analysts and institutional investors, fell to 8.5 this month, the lowest level since December. The decline represented a loss of 4.3 points from [...]
Indian President says reducing inflation is Modi’s primary task June 9, 2014 COMBATING India’s elevated inflation will be the priority of the incoming government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to a statement of its principles by the country’s President yesterday. “We will work together to usher our economy into a high growth path, rein in inflation, reignite the investment cycle, accelerate job creation and restore the [...]
S&P forecasts Chinese property prices will fall as market cools June 9, 2014 CHINESE property prices are forecast to fall five per cent this year as the property market cools, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s. The predicted decline marks a significant correction from the 11.5 per cent increase in prices in 2013, with prices in some top tier cities rising over 20 per cent [...]
Critics lambast new Green Deal cashback plan June 9, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT’S revamped Green Deal came under fire from politicians and consumer groups yesterday, who criticised the extra £360m set to be invested into the struggling energy efficiency scheme. The programme, which offers loans to households who wish to install energy saving measures such as roof insulation and double glazing, was re-launched yesterday to include [...]
Carillion joint venture selected for Midlands highway contract June 9, 2014 LONDON-LISTED construction services firm Carillion yesterday said its joint venture with Lafarge Tarmac has been named as one of five contractors to work on the £260m roadworks contract in the Midlands. The agreement is worth around £100m to the joint venture over the three-year period and could be extended for an extra year. Carillion and [...]
Lack of investor confidence limits number of UK gas power stations June 9, 2014 A LACK of private sector funding has limited the number of independent gas-fired power plants being built in the last five years, claims a new government-backed report. There is currently enough investor appetite to fund two large gas plants a year, but a return to market confidence could enable ten plants a year to be [...]
Hurricane drills Lancaster well June 9, 2014 Aim-listed UK oil and gas explorer Hurricane Energy yesterday said it has completed the drilling phase of a well on its Lancaster discovery, located west of Shetland in the UK North Sea. The recently-floated firm’s well is now being prepared for testing. “I am extremely encouraged by the data so far acquired as it indicates [...]
Trans-Siberian Gold’s losses widen June 9, 2014 Trans-Siberian Gold, the Russian miner listed on London’s junior stock market, yesterday said its pre-tax loss had widened to $16.5m last year from $3.4m in 2012, reflecting lower metal prices and a one-off stock inventory impairment. But gold and silver output rose 7.5 per cent and 11.1 per cent respectively. “The main operational issue during [...]
Babcock loses out on contracts June 9, 2014 Engineering firm Babcock yesterday said that it will not be awarded any of the next tranche of real estate contracts set to be outsourced by the Ministry of Defence, sending its shares down 1.9 per cent. Babcock had bid for three of the contracts but said that after discussions with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation it [...]
