Manufacturing activity grows at fastest pace in 16 years January 4, 2011 Manufacturing activity grew at its fastest pace in over 16 years in December and firms’ costs rose at a record pace, suggesting at least one sector of the economy may be ready for higher interest rates before the end of 2011. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 58.3 in December, its highest [...]
BP shares rise to six-month high after Shell bid report January 4, 2011 Shares in oil major BP hit a six-month high after reports that rival Royal Dutch Shell had considered a takeover bid during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP shares were up 4.3 per cent to 485.65 pence as the market opened. The Daily Mail, citing sources close to the Anglo-Dutch group, reported Shell weighed [...]
Mortgage approvals in unexpected rise January 4, 2011 Mortgage approvals rose unexpectedly in November to their highest level since July, but unsecured consumer lending suffered its biggest monthly fall since August, Bank of England figures showed. The mortgage approvals figures chime with an unexpected rise in the Nationwide house price index in December, though activity is still much lower than 12 months earlier [...]
EasyJet orders 15 Airbus A320s January 4, 2011 Low-cost airline easyJet has confirmed an order for 15 Airbus A320 aircraft and switched a deal for the delivery of 20 A319 aircraft to the larger A320 to help it gain share in the European market. The company also said it had secured options over a further 33 A320 aircraft, taking its total number of [...]
Standard Life extends deadline on offer for Focus January 4, 2011 Insurer Standard Life has extended the deadline for Focus Solutions shareholders to respond to its £42m bid for the financial services technology company. The company said it had received acceptances of its cash offer from shareholders holding 82.7 per cent of Focus by 31 December, the initial closing date of its offer. It has extended [...]
Blacks Leisure boosted by festive sales January 4, 2011 Blacks Leisure said it had been boosted by sales over the festive period with total sales in its outdoor business up 12.9 per cent in December. Like-for-like sales were up by 10.2 per cent. Blacks confirmed that it is still in talks with parties – which it has not named – about a possible takeover [...]
Oil price hovers around two year high January 4, 2011 Oil hovered near the highest price levels in more than two years, as accelerating manufacturing activity in industrialised economies and winter weather fanned expectations that US crude inventories will continue to drain. US crude for February fell 12 cents to $91.43 a barrel, about a dollar below Monday’s peak of $92.58, the highest intraday price [...]
Indian consortium mulls rival Riversdale bid December 24, 2010 An Indian state consortium is weighing up whether to make a rival bid for Riversdale Mining, a day after Rio Tinto upped its offer for the firm. Riversdale’s directors said they would be recommending Rio’s improved $3.9bn (£2.5bn) offer to shareholders. Partha Bhattacharyya, chairman of Coal India, one of the consortium’s members, said Citigroup was [...]
JJB in £30m fundraising plan December 24, 2010 JJB has has announced plans to raise £31.5m from shareholders, after issuing a warning it could breach the terms of a banking agreement. The struggling sports retailer said it was raising funds from major shareholders including Crystal Amber and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. It added that its lender, Bank of Scotland, had [...]
Japan meets budget target December 24, 2010 Japan’s government has managed to meet caps on spending and new bond issuance in compiling a budget for the year from next April, the finance minister said, as the government struggles to mend tattered public finances. With new debt issuance seen topping tax revenues for the second straight year in the initial budget, Economics Minister [...]
