Eurozone inflation steady at 3pc November 16, 2011 Eurozone inflation held steady at three per cent for a second month in October, the EU said on Wednesday, as oil prices pushed up the cost of living and complicated the European Central Bank’s role in dealing with the bloc’s stagnating economy. Now at a three-year high, consumer prices in the 17-nation currency area rose [...]
Unemployment hits 15-year high November 16, 2011 Unemployment in Britain rose to the highest rate in 15 years and the number of young people without a job soared to a record high, official data showed. The government, under pressure to boost the economy, is constrained by its pledge to erase Britain’s huge budget deficit through a tough austerity plan, which includes the [...]
Icap earnings fall as banks reduce risk appetite November 16, 2011 British interdealer broker ICAP has posted a dip in first-half earnings and said its voice-broking business had been hit by banks looking to cut costs in the wake of market turmoil caused by the Eurozone debt crisis. Earnings per share for the six months to September fell six percent to 19.6 pence, compared with a [...]
SFO launches probe into Olympus November 16, 2011 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched a formal investigation into more than $1bn (£634.3m) of obscure payments and acquisitions made by Japan’s Olympus Corp., a source familiar with the matter said. The source declined to be named, and the SFO did not provide an immediate comment. However, leading lawyers had expected the SFO to [...]
LSE revenues jump thanks to clearing business November 16, 2011 The London Stock Exchange’s fledgling clearing business was the stellar performer in the first half of the year pushing the exchange group’s income up 20 per cent to £386.5m. The LSE said interest drawn from loans to clients through its clearing business rose 225 per cent to £54.3m in the six months to the end [...]
FTSE falls as Eurozone fear factor hits banks November 15, 2011 The FTSE edged down this morning, mirroring weaknesses in Asia, as rises in bond yields in Spain and Italy heaped more pressure on markets. Italy sold three billion euros of five-year bonds at 6.29 per cent yesterday – a euro-era record. The country’s 10-year bond yields rose to 6.76 per cent, also pushing Spanish 10-year [...]
Eurozone growth just 0.2pc despite stronger France and Germany November 15, 2011 Germany and France posted solid growth in the third quarter but those euro zone countries at the sharp end of the debt crisis dragged the overall figure for the bloc to a meagre 0.2 per cent. The German economy grew 0.5 per cent in July-September, in line with market forecasts, and second quarter growth was [...]
Inflation falls more than expected November 15, 2011 Inflation in Britain eased more than forecast to five per cent in October, official data showed on Tuesday, lending support to Bank of England expectations that inflation has probably peaked and will fall sharply next year. Consumer prices rose 0.1 per cent last month, taking the annual inflation rate down to five per cent from [...]
British Land asset value rises November 15, 2011 UK developer British Land posted rises in first-half net asset value (NAV) and underlying pretax profit, and said it was well positioned to capture upside in both income and capital when the economy improves. British Land booked a 4.2 per cent rise in first-half NAV to 591 pence a share, while its underlying pre-tax profit [...]
easyJet to pay £195m dividend as profits soar November 15, 2011 Low-cost airline easyJet posted a 31.5 per cent rise in full-year profit, helped by costs cuts and an increase in the number of corporate passengers, and said it would return £195M to shareholders. The Luton, southern England-based carrier reported an underlying pretax profit of £248m on revenues 16 per cent higher at £3.45bn. It said [...]
