Kesa suffers first half loss December 7, 2011 Electricals retailer Kesa swung to an expected first-half loss reflecting a poor performance at its Comet business in Britain, which is being sold, and weaker second-quarter trading in France. Kesa, whose main business is French market leader Darty, said on Wednesday while all markets were becoming more challenging, it was “well prepared” for the peak [...]
New car sales down 4.2pc December 6, 2011 New car sales fell by 4.2 per cent on the year in November to 134,027 units, although registrations may now beat an earlier forecast for this year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said on Tuesday. The SMMT said car registrations in the year to date were down 4.5 percent on the year at [...]
House prices dip December 6, 2011 House prices fell by 0.9 per cent in November, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday, though it said it expected the housing market to hold steady in the coming months. House prices fell by one per cent in the three months to November compared with a year ago, weaker than the 0.7 per cent decline [...]
Downgrade bombshell puts brakes on FTSE gains December 6, 2011 The brakes were slammed on the recovery in European markets this morning after ratings agency Standard and Poor’s warned 15 Eurozone countries – including Germany – that they were teetering on the edge of a downgrade. Asian stocks and the euro fell after S&P piled pressure on a plan to solve the region’s debt crisis [...]
BoE says bank profitability targets too tough December 6, 2011 British banks’ targets for shareholder returns are too high, and do not reflect the regulatory changes aimed at making banking a lower-risk, lower-return business, the Bank of England said. In a record of their November 23 Financial Policy Committee meeting published on Tuesday, policymakers reiterated that the euro zone debt crisis posed the biggest threat [...]
FSA fines HSBC £10.5m for mis-selling to elderly December 5, 2011 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator fined HSBC £10.5m for mis-selling products to elderly customers. The FSA said in a statement that HSBC’s NHFA subsidiary had given “inappropriate investment advice” to elderly customers and added that the British bank had estimated it would have to pay a further £29.3m in compensation to them. The FSA [...]
Service sector picks up December 5, 2011 Britain’s dominant services sector picked up slightly last month, defying forecasts it would stagnate, although employers shed jobs at the fastest pace in more than a year, a survey showed. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the service sector rose to 52.1 in November from 51.3 in October, beating expectations for a dip to [...]
Manufacturers warn of stagnation December 5, 2011 British manufacturers report that output is growing at its weakest pace in nearly two years and expect it to stagnate early next year, held back by worries about the euro zone and weak demand at home, a survey showed on Monday. The EEF, the main trade body for UK manufacturers, cuts its 2012 growth forecast [...]
TUI profits beat expectations December 5, 2011 Europe’s biggest tour operator TUI Travel reported an 18 per cent rise in full-year profit, ahead of expectations, benefiting from increased sales of holidays to resorts it exclusively operates and an upturn in bookings online. The group, which operates the Thomson and First Choice chains, said operating profit for the year to 30 September was [...]
China services sector growth slows December 5, 2011 China’s services sector cooled in November to its weakest growth in three months, an HSBC purchasing managers’ index showed on Monday, the latest data portraying an economy slowing quickly and in need of policy support. The index fell to 52.5, a sharp decline given that October’s reading was 54.1 – the highest in four months [...]
