Disaster losses top $70bn in first half September 9, 2011 Devastating earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan mean 2011 is already the most expensive year in history for earthquake-insured losses, according to Swiss Re’s preliminary estimates. Losses of $30bn (£18.8bn) were incurred due to the disaster in Japan in March, while losses from February’s quake in Christchurch, New Zealand will total $9 to 12bn. Swiss [...]
US shares plunge as job creation falls to zero September 2, 2011 US stocks have slumped on renewed fears for the economy’s prospects after grim employment data showed zero job creation in the 400m-strong country in August. Official non-farm payroll data showed the US economy added no net new jobs in August, far below analyst expectations for an extra 70,000 jobs. The news sent the Dow down [...]
Construction activity weakest since December September 2, 2011 Construction activity expanded last month at its weakest pace since December due to a slowdown in orders and output growth, as well as a less positive outlook, a survey of purchasing managers showed. The Markit/CIPS construction PMI fell in line with economists’ expectations to 52.6 in August from 53.5 in July, still above the 50-mark [...]
Barcap poaches Morgan Stanley banker September 2, 2011 Barclays Capital (Barcap) has poached Andrew Richards from Morgan Stanley in Europe to head the bank’s private equity coverage in Asia Pacific, two sources told Reuters. Richards, who will be a managing director at Barcap, is expected to fill a position that has been vacant since Takumi Tanaka, a former Lehman and Nomura banker, left [...]
John Lewis sales lifted by back to school gear September 2, 2011 John Lewis posted a rise in weekly sales, boosted by parents splashing out on items ahead of the imminent start of the new school year. The employee-owned business said sales at its department stores increased 1.4 per cent to £58.6m in the week to August 27. Sales excluding VAT sales tax fell 0.4 per cent. [...]
SABMiller asks for review of Foster’s accounts September 2, 2011 Global brewer SABMiller has asked Australia’s Takeovers Panel to examine financial statements made by takeover target Foster’s Group, accusing Australia’s largest brewer of making “misleading and deceptive” statements. SABMiller has made a $10bn (£6.2bn) hostile bid for Foster’s, which the Australian brewer rejected as being too low to be “worth discussing.” Foster’s released a statement [...]
Standard Chartered boosted by commodity trading September 2, 2011 Standard Chartered expects to post a 30 per cent year-on-year growth in its commodity trading revenue in 2011 on strong demand from its clients in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, a senior company official said. The bank is also looking to expand physical trading in various commodities such as coal, iron ore, palm oil [...]
FTSE down as miners struggle but banks rally September 1, 2011 The FTSE 100 failed to track gains on Wall Street and in Asia overnight as the mining sector pegged the index back. Traders and investors were digesting a raft of economic data from across the globe and assessing whether the economic recovery was gaining traction. Miners were hit by figures from China showing that its [...]
House prices fall in August September 1, 2011 House prices suffered an unexpected fall last month, dropping at their fastest pace since October last year, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Thursday, reinforcing the subdued outlook for the property market. Nationwide said that house prices fell by 0.6 per cent in August, reversing a revised 0.3 per cent rise in July, and [...]
UK manufacturing activity at two-year low September 1, 2011 Manufacturing activity shrank at its fastest pace in over two years in August, hurt by a sharp drop in demand for exports, data showed on Thursday, in a further sign that the economic recovery is stalling. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI headline activity index fell to 49.0 in August from an upwardly revised 49.4 in July. [...]
