StanChart profit growth to slow June 27, 2012 Standard Chartered said on Wednesday it expects pretax profit in the first half of this year to grow by less than 10 per cent, slowing from previous years as growth in Asia eases and local currencies weaken against the dollar. Income growth in January-June was also expected to slow to below 10 per cent, it [...]
RBS computer woes could last weeks June 26, 2012 RBS could be dealing with the effects of the latest backlog of customers’ transactions for several weeks, the Financial Ombudsman Service said after it received around 500 calls from irate RBS customers. Customers’ transactions from RBS, NatWest and Ireland’s Ulster Bank have been delayed because of a software update failure last week. According to RBS, [...]
Government scraps fuel duty rise June 26, 2012 Chancellor George Osborne sai he would freeze a planned rise in fuel duty this year to help reduce costs for businesses and families. “We will now stop any rise in fuel duty this August and freeze it for the rest of the year,” Osborne told parliament. Fuel duty was due to rise by three pence [...]
King says UK outlook weaker June 26, 2012 The outlook for Britain’s economy has worsened over the past few weeks due to turmoil in the euro zone, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said. “In the last six weeks… I am very struck by how much has changed since we produced our May Inflation Report,” King told parliament’s Treasury Committee. “I am pessimistic [...]
Public borrowing rises as tax receipts fall June 26, 2012 Public borrowing was higher than expected in May after income tax receipts fell and spending rose, in a sign the government may face a struggle to meet its debt reduction target as the economy weakens. The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector interventions – the government’s preferred measure [...]
Stagecoach profits dented by rail unit June 26, 2012 British bus and rail operator Stagecoach reported a slight fall in full-year profit after its UK rail business delivered a worse-than-expected performance. Scotland-based Stagecoach said its pretax profit for the year to the end of April fell 1.5 per cent to £202.5m on revenues 8.4 per cent higher at £2.59bn. “This reduction was principally due [...]
Ocado says sales hit by Jubilee June 26, 2012 Online supermarket Ocado said trade in its third quarter was disrupted by celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee as it posted a 4.5 per cent rise in underlying first half earnings. “The third quarter is particularly hard to forecast as we have already seen some disruption from the Jubilee events, and there is [...]
Shire hit as US approves generic drug June 25, 2012 US regulators have ruled against Shire in a battle over generic copies of its hyperactivity drug Adderall XR, approving a cut-price version of the medicine from Actavis, which is being bought by Watson Pharmaceuticals. Until now there have only been two authorised generic forms of Adderall XR, both supplied by Shire, and the arrival of [...]
Spain formally applies for bailout June 25, 2012 Spain formally requested on Monday European aid of up to 100bn euros for its banks, the Economy Ministry said in a statement. Spain’s Economy Minister Luis De Guindos (pictured) said in the letter to Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker that the final amount of the financial assistance would be set at a later stage but should [...]
Banks and miners peg FTSE back June 25, 2012 Miners and banks led the FTSE 100 lower in early trading as fears over stalling global growth took their toll. With the grim scene in the Eurozone still casting a shadow investors were shying away from riskier assets. Spain today formally requested a bailout loan for its banking sector from its eurozone partners. The loan [...]
