AstraZeneca shares fall as regulator blocks drug December 17, 2010 Shares in AstraZeneca fell by up to five per cent on the FTSE as the UK drugmaker’s blood thinner failed to get the go-ahead. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it wanted further analysis of existing drugs studies. Brilinta, which is already approved in Europe, is expected to reach $2bn (£1.3bn) sales in [...]
Punch Taverns on target for full year December 17, 2010 Britain’s biggest pubs group Punch Taverns said it was on track to meet full-year targets after an investment programme and support for tenants helped its recently-noted improved trading to continue. Punch, which has over 7,100 pubs across Britain, said the improved trading momentum recorded in the fourth quarter had continued in the 16 weeks to [...]
National Express drives forward after strong quarter December 17, 2010 National Express said it expects full-year profit to exceed market expectations, helped by a strong across-the-board performance in the fourth quarter. The bus, coach and train operator said on Friday that all parts of its business had performed well since October, with especially strong revenue growth at its British rail and coach businesses and in [...]
Moody’s slashes Ireland’s credit rating December 17, 2010 Moody’s Investors Service slashed Ireland’s credit rating by five notches to Baa1 from Aa2 and warned further downgrades could follow if Ireland was unable to stabilise debt metrics in the foreseeable future. The downgrade followed Fitch’s move last week to become the first ratings agency to strip Ireland of its ‘A’ credit status, cutting it [...]
Consumer confidence plunges December 17, 2010 Consumer morale plunged in November to its lowest since the UK was in the depths of recession, as the announcement of government spending cuts raised fears over the future, a survey showed. The Nationwide Consumer Confidence index fell 7 points to 45 in November, its fourth consecutive fall and the lowest since March 2009. The [...]
Inflation expectations at two year high December 16, 2010 Britons expect a higher rate of inflation over the coming year than at any time since August 2008, suggesting concern about a looming sales tax rise and rising food prices, a Bank of England survey showed on Thursday. The Bank’s November inflation attitudes survey showed that the public expect inflation of 3.9 per cent over [...]
Retail sales up 0.3pc December 16, 2010 Retail sales rose at a slightly weaker than expected pace in November but the previous month’s growth was revised up, leaving the broad picture unchanged from analysts’ forecasts. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 0.3 per cent last month and by an upwardly revised 0.7 per cent in October. [...]
Posen warns against inflation “overreaction” December 16, 2010 Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Adam Posen has warned policymakers not to overreact to inflation which remains above target. “The first point I want to make is that neither our forecast nor our policy going forward should overreact reflexively to that above target inflation, even though it will persist for the next few [...]
Virgin Blue deal agreed by watchdogs December 16, 2010 AN alliance between Australian budget airline Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand has been given the go ahead by Australia’s competition watchdog. The regulator said it would allow the carriers to co-ordinate prices, scheduling, capacity and routes for flights between the two countries. It had rejected the plan in a draft decision in September. But [...]
Young’s buys Geronimo in £60m deal December 16, 2010 Brewing firm Young & Co has bought the pub chain Geronimo Inns for £60m. The acquisition includes the 26 Geronimo pubs, based in central London, Heathrow and Surrey. It increases Young’s managed estate by more than a quarter to 148 pubs, and takes its total estate to 247 pubs. Young’s said it expected the transaction [...]
