US unemployment rises – but less than expected September 3, 2010 The US economy shed another 54,000 jobs in August, the third month in a row that jobs have been lost, official figures have shown. But the private sector created 67,000 jobs – more than analysts had been expecting – according to the Labour Department. That meant that overrall the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 per [...]
Eurozone retail sales rise September 3, 2010 Eurozone retail sales increased for a third successive month in July, offering more signs that consumers are opening their wallets and boosting the chances of the economic recovery continuing. Sales across the 16-nation currency bloc edged up 0.1 per cent from June and rose by a faster-than-expected 1.1 per cent year-on-year, the European Union statistical [...]
Service sector activity in new slump September 3, 2010 Service sector activity grew last month at its slowest pace since April 2009, with a marked fall in hiring as employers worried about an economic slowdown and public spending cuts, a survey showed. The headline Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers’ index dropped to 51.3 in August from July’s 53.1, a much sharper fall than the decline [...]
John Lewis shrugs off double-dip fears September 3, 2010 Customers of John Lewis are showing few signs of reining in spending in the face of prospective tax rises and employment uncertainty with the firm posting another week of double digit sales growth. The employee-owned company, traditionally seen as a bellwether of the retail sector but which has outperformed competitors for over a year, said [...]
Fyffes sees profit slump after banana glut September 3, 2010 TROPICAL fruits supplier Fyffes saw profit dive by 28 per cent – triggered by an excess of bananas in the market and rising costs. The Dublin-based company said higher fuel costs and a stronger US dollar made for “difficult” conditions, leaving it with a profit of 13.3m euros (£11.1m) in the six months to June. [...]
BP oil spill bill hits £5.2bn September 3, 2010 BP has said that it has so far clocked up a £5.2bn bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster. An estimated 265,000 barrels of oil have been collected from the water, the company said. Meanwhile 28,400 personnel, more than 4,050 vessels, and dozens of aircraft are still working on the spill clean-up. The [...]
Chinese approach pension fund over Potash bid September 3, 2010 Chinese investors have approached a Canadian pension fund about a possible rival bid for the fertiliser giant Potash Corporation. Alberta Investment Management said it was not interested in a rival bid and did not name the investors involved. But the approach provides further evidence that the Chinese are trying to derail a $40bn (£25.8bn) hostile [...]
RBS to axe 3,500 more jobs September 2, 2010 THE Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to axe 3,500 jobs from its technical and back office division. RBS has told staff that up to 12 offices could close in England, while Scotland will also be badly hit. A third of the job losses are as a result of RBS selling 318 of its branches [...]
Probe launched into energy companies’ “mis-selling” September 2, 2010 Energy regulator Ofgem is launching an investigation into whether four of the big gas and power suppliers are mis-selling products to customers. Ofgem’s probe will determine if EDF Energy, RWE Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy, and Iberdrola’s Scottish Power are complying with obligations brought in last October which were aimed at preventing households being mis-sold [...]
Construction sector growth falters September 2, 2010 Growth in the country’s construction sector slowed markedly in August led by a loss of momentum in residential construction, according to a survey. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply construction PMI slipped to 52.1 in August from 54.1 in July. That was below the consensus forecast of 53.2 and more than six points below [...]
