BoE raises alarm over inflation April 18, 2012 Britain’s current high inflation may now be at greater risk of lasting into the medium term, the Bank of England warned, casting doubt on whether it will inject more economic stimulus next month. Minutes to the BoE’s April 4-5 meeting showed on Wednesday showed that a long-standing advocate of more quantitative easing, Adam Posen, had [...]
UK unemployment edges down April 18, 2012 The UK unemployment rate edged down in the three months to February, official statistics showed. The number of people without a job on the ILO measure fell by 35,000 in the three months to February to 2.65m, the Office for National Statistics said. The jobless rate fell to 8.3 per cent, compared with forecasts that [...]
GKN profit rise fuelled by automotive arm April 18, 2012 Car and plane parts maker GKN posted a 19 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, driven by a strong performance from its automotive business and acquisitions made last year. GKN reported a trading profit of £142m in the first three months of the year on revenues 17 per cent higher at £1.74bn. GKN reported a [...]
Panmure poaches Seymour Pierce’s Wale as new chief April 18, 2012 Panmure Gordon, one of several niche investment banks operating in the City of London finance district, has poached Phillip Wale from rival Seymour Pierce to be its new chief executive. Panmure said on Wednesday Wale would take up his new role this summer, with current CEO Tim Linacre becoming chairman of its investment banking arm. [...]
Tesco in £1bn plan to breathe new life into business April 18, 2012 Tesco said it would spend £1bn this year overhauling its underperforming UK business and will rein in expansion as it seeks to win back market share and calm nervous shareholders. It said that the blueprint to revitalise its most important market, which it conceded was not a radical change of direction, would focus on improving [...]
Spanish borrowing costs jump April 17, 2012 Spain’s short-term borrowing costs jumped at a sale of more than €3bn of short-term government debt on Tuesday, reflecting fears about the country’s finances and boding ill for a key long-term debt auction later in the week. The Spanish Treasury sold €3.2bn of 12 and 18-month bills, just above its target range of 2-3 billion [...]
FTSE edges up thanks to banks April 17, 2012 London’s blue chip index edged up this morning but the Eurozone debt crisis continued to cast a shadow. Spain’s borrowing costs have jumped and the country is grappling to get back on track with a tough set of austerity measures. The FTSE 100 built on limited gains in yesterday’s session as investors took cover in [...]
UK inflation rises April 17, 2012 British inflation ticked up in March, driven by higher food and clothing prices and reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will not inject more stimulus into the economy next month. The Bank of England and the government have been hoping that falling price pressures will ease the squeeze on Britons’ budgets and boost consumer spending. [...]
Judge extends deadline on BP oil spill case April 17, 2012 A federal judge has given BP Plc and lawyers for individuals and businesses who claimed they were harmed by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill more time to file details of their proposed settlements. US District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans extended the deadline related to the estimated $7.8bn (£4.9bn) accord over the [...]
Daily Mail group warns over lower 2012 profits April 17, 2012 British newspaper group Daily Mail & General Trust said it expected profits in the first half of the year to be lower than in 2011, hit by falling national advertising revenues and higher newsprint and promotional costs. Daily Mail said it would keep its full-year outlook unchanged but noted that it now expected both operating [...]
