StanChart eyes tenth record year, new hires August 1, 2012 Standard Chartered is stepping up hiring and investment to take advantage of rivals retreating from its core Asian markets, after a strong first six months set it up for a 10th straight year of record profits. The London-based bank plans to add 1,000 to 1,500 jobs and increase investment spending by about $100 million (£64m) [...]
Nokia shares jump on talk of Lenovo interest August 1, 2012 Shares in Nokia surged 11 per cent on Wednesday in heavy volumes, with traders and analysts citing talk that Chinese PC maker Lenovo may be interested in the struggling Finnish cellphone maker. Nokia declined to comment. Lenovo was not immediately available for comment. Nokia shares have dropped more than 70 per cent since it unveiled [...]
UK manufacturing shrinks at fastest pace in over 3 years in July August 1, 2012 Britain’s manufacturing sector shrank at its fastest rate in more than three years in July, the latest PMI survey showed today, dealing a blow to hopes the country may come out of recession over the summer. The grim figures will fuel expectations that the Bank of England will add further stimulus once the current £50bn [...]
SocGen profit slumps August 1, 2012 French bank Societe Generale reported a worse-than-expected 42 per cent drop in second-quarter earnings today, hit by one-off write-downs on US fund unit TCW and Russian subsidiary Rosbank ROSBR.UL. France’s second largest listed bank is more than halfway through a plan to slash debt and sell assets at its corporate and investment bank. It is [...]
Asian shares fall as stimulus hopes fade August 1, 2012 Asian shares fell on Wednesday as soft Chinese manufacturing data further undermined investor confidence and as hopes faded for bold stimulus action this week by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to underpin faltering economies. European stocks were set to open lower, and a 0.1 per cent drop in US stock futures [...]
UK cheap funding programme begins August 1, 2012 Britain’s banks can start tapping into a new government programme to provide them with cheap funding designed to get more credit to flow through the recession-hit economy, the Treasury said today. The scheme – which offers funding at below-market rates against a broad range of collateral if banks continue or extend lending to businesses and [...]
Next defies retail gloom with sales rise August 1, 2012 Next, Britain’s second-biggest clothing retailer, beat its target for first-half sales growth, helped by a particularly robust performance from its Directory home shopping business as the wet summer weather encouraged shoppers to go online. The firm, which trades from over 500 stores in the UK and Ireland, nearly 200 stores in over 30 countries overseas, [...]
House prices suffer biggest drop since 2009 – Nationwide August 1, 2012 British house prices fell at their fastest annual pace in nearly three years last month, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed today, as the effects of nine months of recession spread further across the economy. Nationwide reported a 0.7 per cent decline in house prices in July, a much bigger drop than that forecast by [...]
Eurozone inflation static as unemployment hits high July 31, 2012 Inflation in the Eurozone remained steady for the third straight month in July, offering little comfort to consumers at a time when the number of people out of work continues to climb and the unemployment rate hit a record high. Consumer prices in the 17 nations sharing the euro rose 2.4 per cent in July [...]
Watchdog objects to InterContinental online tie-ups July 31, 2012 Britain’s consumer watchdog has objected to deals struck between InterContinental Hotels Group and online travel agents Booking.com and Expedia, saying that they restrict online agents’ ability to discount hotel room rates. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that its provisional view was that Booking.com, Expedia and InterContinental had infringed competition law and that its [...]
