Manufacturing PMI at 7-month low May 3, 2011 Manufacturing activity grew less robustly than expected in April, at its weakest pace in 7 months, and a sharp slowdown in new orders cast a cloud over what has been a rare bright spot in the economy. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing PMI headline index, published on Tuesday, fell to 54.6 in April, its lowest since September, [...]
Compass expands in Sweden and Netherlands May 3, 2011 Compass Group’s Eurest Services arm has acquired BGP Resurs for £1.6m to allow it to expand operations in the north of Sweden. BGP is a foodservice company based in northern Sweden serving the business & industry and leisure sectors. Its revenue in the year to 31 December 2010 was 26.5m SEK (£2.6m). Compass also confirmed [...]
Man raises $1.5bn for Japan hedge fund May 3, 2011 Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund firm, has unveiled its biggest fund launch since the financial crisis after raising $1.5bn (£902.4m) for a new open-ended computer-driven trend fund in Japan. The Nomura Global Trend fund, the first onshore Japanese fund launched by Man’s AHL unit, began trading at the end of April and [...]
William Hill in deal for Brandywine May 3, 2011 UK betting giant William Hill has done a deal to buy Brandywine Bookmaking for $15.7m (£9.4m). Brandywine operates 16 sportsbooks in Nevada under the Lucky’s brand and one in St Kitts in the Caribbean. It is also the exclusive odds maker for the Delaware State Sports Lottery, which it operates in partnership with Scientific Games. [...]
US forces kill Bin Laden May 2, 2011 US forces have killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in a helicopter raid on a mansion in Pakistan. The killing ends a massive manhunt for the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001. The Navy Seal special service team was under orders to kill rather than capture Bin Laden, according to [...]
UK economy returns to growth April 27, 2011 The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the first three months of the year. The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) figures show a recovery from the 0.5 per cent contraction recorded for the last three months of 2010.
Credit Suisse investment bank reports strong quarter April 27, 2011 Credit Suisse reported record first-quarter investment banking revenue that beat forecasts as a hiring spree helped it gain market share and client activity rose. Switzerland’s second-largest bank said on Wednesday investment bank revenues rose to a record $5.4bn (£3.2bn) from $5bn a year ago, although in Swiss francs they slipped six per cent to 4.9 [...]
S&P threatens new Japan downgrade April 27, 2011 Standard and Poor’s threatened to cut Japan’s sovereign credit rating again, warning the huge cost of last month’s devastating earthquake will hurt already weak public finances unless bickering politicians can agree to raise taxes. It affirmed its long-term sovereign credit rating on Japan at AA minus – the lowest among the major agencies – but [...]
BP earnings dented by oil spill April 27, 2011 BP reported a two per cent drop in first quarter net profit as lower production and higher charges due to the oil spill outweighed the benefits of a rising oil price. BP’s replacement cost net profit was $5.5bn (£3.3bn) in the quarter, the company said in a statement. Excluding one-offs such as asset sales, BP’s [...]
Barclays profit drops April 27, 2011 Barclays said its profit fell nine per cent from a year ago as it took a hit on the value of its own credit and income at its key investment banking arm dipped. Barclays reported a pretax profit of £1.66bn for the January-March period, just below forecasts and down from £1.82bn a year ago. Adjusted [...]
