UK factory output in shock drop April 5, 2012 British factory output suffered its biggest monthly fall in almost a year in February, confounding upbeat private-sector surveys and casting doubt on the health of the country’s economic recovery. The economy shrank at the end of 2011, ensuring the Bank of England bolstered its quantitative easing gilt purchases in February, a decision it looks set [...]
China service sector in boost April 5, 2012 China’s services sector expanded solidly in March and business confidence hit an 11-month high, though overall activity remained below its long-term average, a private sector survey of purchasing managers showed. The seasonally adjusted HSBC Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) stood at 53.3 in March, down slightly from February’s 53.9, but still signalling healthy growth with [...]
Halfords customers cut back on accessories April 5, 2012 Halfords said it expected to post 2012 pre-tax profit broadly in line with revised forecasts but well down on previous years as consumers cut back on non-essential services. It said it also expected the consumer environment to remain challenging in 2013, especially for the motorist. In the last 13 weeks, stores in Britain and Ireland [...]
Recruiter Robert Walters sees net fees rise April 5, 2012 Robert Walters (RWA.L) got off to a strong start in 2012, with the British recruitment firm posting a 12 percent increase in net fees in the first quarter, helped by growth across all regions in which it operates. However, the white-collar recruiter, which places people in accountancy, banking, IT and administration jobs, said clients and [...]
Miners and banks dent FTSE April 4, 2012 The FTSE 100 was dragged back by weaker mining stocks after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s March meeting revealed that it is not planning any more monetary stimulus. Federal Reserve policymakers have backed away from the need to pump more money into the system as the US economy gradually improves, minutes of the central [...]
ECB holds rates April 4, 2012 The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low of one per cent on and is expected to resist German pressure to flag an exit from its crisis-fighting mode as the euro zone recovery looks increasingly shaky and concerns grow about Spain. Germany’s powerful Bundesbank has led a push by central bankers from [...]
Spanish debt yields rise April 4, 2012 Spanish borrowing costs jumped at a bond auction, jolting wider European markets, as this week’s tough budget failed to calm investors’ nerves about the country’s finances. Madrid sold 2.6 billion euros (£2.18bn) of medium-term paper, at the low end of its target range, and two out of three of the yields rose slightly above analysts’ [...]
UK service sector in boost April 4, 2012 Britain’s dominant services sector saw surprisingly strong business growth in March and struck an optimistic tone about the months ahead, providing a further sign that economic recovery is taking hold. Combined with unexpectedly solid growth in manufacturing and construction last month, the expansion in the services sector takes further pressure off the Bank of England [...]
House prices in unexpected March rise April 4, 2012 House prices rose 2.2 percent in March, confounding forecasts for a 0.3 per cent dip, data from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Wednesday. House prices nudged down 0.6 percent in the three months to March compared with a year ago – the smallest fall on this measure since October 2010. That took the average price [...]
EXCLUSIVE: Alex Hope, the £200,000 bar bill trader, arrested in FSA probe April 4, 2012 Alex Hope, the 23 year-old trader who hit the headlines after spending £125,000 on a single bottle of champagne, has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme. Hope, who claims to be a self made foreign exchange trader, became infamous when he ran up a £125,000 bar bill [...]
