Japan in fresh downgrade warning May 31, 2011 Japan’s economy offered more signs of recovery from the deadly March earthquake, but Moody’s ratings agency warned both growth and government action may fall short of what is necessary to bring Tokyo’s ballooning debt back under control. Industrial output rose one per cent last month after a record plunge immediately after the magnitude 9.0 quake [...]
Lloyd’s insurer Novae eyes £420m Omega merger May 31, 2011 Lloyd’s of London insurer Novae is examining a merger with rival Omega, in a deal which could create an enlarged group with a combined market capitalisation of some £420m. “In accordance with the group’s publicly stated strategy, Novae routinely reviews possible transactions and confirms that it is currently undertaking due diligence in evaluating the merits [...]
G8 pledges £12bn to “Arab Spring” May 27, 2011 Group of Eight leaders promised $20bn (£12bn) in aid to new Arab democracies on Friday when they met in France to endorse a programme aimed at fostering changes sweeping North Africa and the Middle East. Leaders were concluding their annual two-day summit with the launch of a partnership for the region that ties aid and [...]
G8 says economic recovery gaining traction May 27, 2011 The Group of Eight leaders agreed that the global economic recovery was becoming more “self-sustained,” although higher commodity prices were hampering further growth. In a communique to be issued at the end of a two-day summit in France, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, European nations, the United States and Japan all agreed [...]
Greece warned IMF may block payments May 27, 2011 The chairman of the eurozone finance ministers has warned that the IMF may not release the next payment in Greece’s bail-out package. Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said IMF rules may stop it paying because Greece cannot guarantee its solvency for the next 12 months. George Papandreou’s government began a programme of privatisations yesterday but [...]
House prices edge up May 27, 2011 House prices rose slightly faster than expected in May but remained 1.2 per cent below their level a year ago, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday. House prices rose 0.3 per cent this month, offsetting the 0.2 per cent fall recorded the previous month, but doing little to alter the picture of a stagnating market. [...]
Britvic hit by rise in costs May 27, 2011 Soft drinks maker Britvic posted a small decline in first half profit as input cost inflation remained high, but said it was confident about the second-half. Britain’s second biggest soft drinks maker behind Coca-Cola Enterprises said underlying pretax profit for the six months to 17 April was £27.7m compared with £27.8m the year before. The [...]
Tate&Lyle beats forecasts and plots more growth May 27, 2011 Sweeteners and starches maker Tate & Lyle beat forecasts with a 34 per cent rise in year profits on Friday helped by higher corn prices and gave an upbeat outlook as it sees another year of profitable growth. The maker of sweeteners like Splenda and starches said it saw a year of good sales growth [...]
EU investors to get more data on hedge fund risks May 26, 2011 Investors are to get more information about the risks in investing in hedge funds, the European Union’s new securities watchdog said. Steven Maijoor, chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority, said investors need information to better assess the risk profile of a hedge fund. “It will be important to achieve a balance between increasing [...]
Daily Mail group hit by ad revenue fall May 26, 2011 Media group Daily Mail & General Trust has said it remains “cautious” after seeing its UK advertising revenue fall in April and May. Pre-tax profits for the six months to April at the owner of the Daily Mail newspaper were in line with expectations at £73m. But the company warned that the uncertain economy could [...]
