FTSE pegged back by China growth fears March 5, 2012 Uncertainty over global growth dragged on investor sentiment in early trading along with a a renewed surge in oil prices. Brent crude climbed back up near $124 a barrel as another refiner announced cuts to Iranian imports, feeding fears of a supply crunch as the West presses ahead with sanctions on Tehran. Copper prices, however, [...]
Service sector growth slows March 5, 2012 Britain’s dominant services sector grew less than expected in February, but still indicated the economy is picking up after a slump late last year, a survey showed. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for services fell to 53.8 from 56.0 in January, which had been a 10-month peak. The latest reading was below forecasts for [...]
China cuts growth target March 5, 2012 Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut his nation’s 2012 growth target to an eight-year low of 7.5 per cent and made boosting consumer demand the year’s first priority as Beijing looks to wean the economy off its reliance on external demand and foreign capital. He lowered the target from a longstanding annual goal of eight per [...]
Ocado forecasts faster sales growth March 5, 2012 Online grocer Ocado posted a double-digit rise in first-quarter sales and forecast an acceleration in sales growth as the year progresses, service initiatives kick in and distribution capacity increases. The company, which mostly sells the products of upmarket grocer Waitrose via a fleet of brightly coloured vans, said on Monday gross sales increased 10.9 per [...]
Amlin slumps to loss as claims surge March 5, 2012 British insurer Amlin said it expected to return to profit this year after more than £500m in catastrophe claims pushed it deep into the red in 2011. Amlin, the biggest insurer operating in the Lloyd’s of London market, made a pre-tax loss of £193.8m last year, compared with a profit of £259.2m in 2010, it [...]
Glencore says Xstrata deal fair as its profits rise March 5, 2012 Commodities trader Glencore, which has agreed to a $37bn takeover of miner Xstrata, said the deal was “fair” for all shareholders at current levels, brushing aside hopes of a hint the offer could be sweetened. It made the comments as it said in its 2011 preliminary results that revenue during its first year as a [...]
FTSE sees banks up as Greece is saved March 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat this morning and the only significant gainers were banks buoyed by further steps towards saving Greece from the financial abyss. In Wall Street and in Asia nudged up overnight as the European Central Bank’s fresh liquidity injection this week served to warm up investor sentiment. The spotlight is on the [...]
Growth in UK construction raises hopes of economic revival March 2, 2012 Britain’s construction sector grew at the fastest pace in nearly a year in February, boosting hopes that Britain’s economy will recover sooner than expected. Building firms grew more optimistic as order inflow picked up strongly and the headline Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers’ Index published on Friday jumped to 54.3 from 51.4 in January, the highest [...]
Barclays taps ECB FOR £6.8bn March 2, 2012 Barclays said it tapped the European Central Bank (ECB) for 8.2 euros (£6.8bn) at its offer for ultra-cheap long-term funding this week. Barclays did not take any cash at the previous offer in December, and had indicated it had no plans to take any funds. It said on Friday the money would be used to [...]
UK “bad bank” pays back £2.1bn to taxpayer March 2, 2012 Britain’s sixth biggest mortgage provider, the “bad bank” running down the loans of collapsed UK lender Northern Rock, said it repaid £2.1bn to the government last year after its annual profits more than doubled. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), which is running down the bad loans that were held by Northern Rock and other failed lender [...]
