Construction picks up in December January 4, 2012 Growth in the construction sector unexpectedly gained pace in December, a survey of purchasing managers showed on Wednesday, providing a rare glimmer of hope that the economy can still avoid recession. The Markit/CIPS construction PMI rose to 53.2 from 52.3 in November, confounding economists’ expectations for a fall to 51.7. “The survey suggests that the [...]
Romney wins in Iowa January 4, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney squeaked out a victory in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation nominating contest on Tuesday as little-known rival Rick Santorum rode lingering conservative unease to a surprise second-place finish. Romney edged out Santorum by only eight votes, winning by 30,015 to 30,007, the state Republican Party announced. As the Republicans headed for their next [...]
Next Christmas shop sales disappoint but online thrives January 4, 2012 Next has reported a 3.1 per cent rise in total sales between August and Christmas Eve as online sales offset “disappointing” sales at its High Street stores. The company, which did not discount any goods in the run up to Christmas, expects full-year pretax profits to be £7m either side of £565m – up four [...]
Smith & Nephew spins off biologics unit January 4, 2012 Smith & Nephew, Europe’s largest artificial hip and knee maker, is to spin off its biologics business into a new joint venture that will be majority owned by international healthcare equity investor Essex Woodlands. The move provides a cash injection and long-term funding for research in the high-tech area at a time when the British [...]
Domino’s sales speed up January 4, 2012 Britain’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza said its sales growth had accelerated in the fourth quarter and its 2011 profit would be in line with market expectations. Domino’s, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, said sales at its 604 shops open more than a year were up 3.6 [...]
BP stops payments to spill victims until court papers clarified January 4, 2012 BP’s $20bn (£12.7bn) oil spill fund has halted payments to eligible victims until a US federal court clarifies an order issued in December, according to a notice posted on the fund’s website. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana had asked the fund, called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, to pay into [...]
Pair convicted for Lawrence murder January 3, 2012 Two men have been found guilty on of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, were convicted after a six-week trial at the Old Bailey that hinged on new scientific evidence presented by prosecutors. Lawrence, 18, was stabbed to death at a London bus stop in April [...]
Commodities fuel FTSE gains January 3, 2012 The FTSE 100 was off to a positive start this morning led upwards by commodity stocks which were boosted by strong data from China. Asian markets were given a lift as the official Chinese purchasing managers’ index indicated a rise in factory activity in December and London followed suit. Industrial metals such as copper rose [...]
Manufacturing still weak but shows signs of stabilising January 3, 2012 Manufacturing beat expectations in December, showing signs of stabilising after a two-month decline as orders from China and Germany picked up, although the risk of another recession persists, a survey shows. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.6 from an upwardly revised 47.7 in November, data compiler Markit said on Tuesday. The [...]
BMW: Premium car market to grow 8pc in 2012 January 3, 2012 BMW expects the global premium car market to grow more than twice as fast as the overall auto market this year, the German carmaker’s finance chief told a German newspaper. “Around the world, we see market growth of four per cent and more than eight per cent in the premium market,” Friedrich Eichiner told Sueddeutsche [...]
