UK services industry in solid growth June 7, 2012 Britain’s services sector continued to grow at a steady pace in May, confounding expectations for a slowdown, and increasing uncertainty over whether the Bank of England will inject more stimulus. The headline activity index of the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ survey out on Thursday came in at 53.3 for May, the same as in April and [...]
Vodafone and Telefonica to set up shared 4G grid June 7, 2012 Mobile operators Vodafone and Telefonica announced plans to create one shared grid in Britain to improve existing coverage and speed the roll out of superfast broadband networks. The two groups, who already had an agreement to share new network sites, said they would strengthen their partnership by pooling their basic network infrastructure to take their [...]
Johnson Matthey pays special dividend June 7, 2012 The chemicals company Johnson Matthey said robust truck sales in North America helped drive a 23 percent jump in full-year underlying profit, prompting the world’s largest supplier of catalytic converters to pay a special dividend. The British speciality chemicals company said that underlying profit before tax for the year to the end of March rose [...]
Australia approves Glencore takeover of Viterra June 7, 2012 Australia’s competition regulator approved a friendly takeover bid by Swiss commodities trader Glencore International of Viterra, clearing another hurdle for the biggest deal in years in the global agricultural sector. Glencore offered Viterra C$16.25 per share, or C$6.lbn, in March for the company, which owns the biggest share of Western Canada’s grain storage and farm [...]
Lloyds offloads $1.2bn loans portfolio June 6, 2012 loyds Banking Group sold an £809m ($1.2bn) portfolio of non-performing loans on distressed property in Australia to Morgan Stanley and Blackstone, as part of the UK lender’s plans to wind down non-core assets. Lloyds, which is 40 per cent owned by the British government, said on Wednesday it had sold the loans for 388 million [...]
UK construction growth slows June 6, 2012 Growth in British construction activity hit a three-month low in May as expansion in new orders abated and optimism about the coming year weakened sharply, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 54.4 from 55.8 in April, staying above the 50 level which separates growth from contraction and [...]
Australian economy surges in first quarter June 6, 2012 Australia’s resource-fuelled economy outpaced all expectations last quarter as households and businesses went on a spending spree, boosting the local dollar and lessening the urgency for further aggressive cuts in interest rates. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.3 per cent in the first quarter, more than double the 0.5 per cent increase forecast. Growth was [...]
Moody’s cuts ratings on string of German and Austrian banks June 6, 2012 Moody’s Investors Service cut the credit ratings of six German banking groups and Austria’s three largest banks on Wednesday, saying they face risks if the eurozone crisis deepens. The downgrades are part of a broad review of banks in the region that has had investors on edge but were mild compared to cuts for banks [...]
Diageo to pour £1bn into scotch whisky production June 6, 2012 Drinks giant Diageo is to invest over £1bn ($1.5bn) in scotch whisky production over the next five years to meet growing demand from the emerging markets of Asia, Latin America and Africa and create hundreds of new jobs. The maker of Johnnie Walker, J&B and Bells whisky brands said it plans to build a new [...]
US jobs market falters June 1, 2012 Job growth braked sharply in May and the unemployment rate rose for the first time since June, putting pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy further to shore up the sputtering recovery. The Labor Department report on Friday, which showed employers added a paltry 69,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, the fewest [...]
