Barclays profits fall to £5.9bn February 10, 2012 Barclays has reported a three per cent drop profits to £5.9bn for 2011 – dented by a slowdown at its investment bank arm. The bank also said the bonus pool at the investment banking division was down 32 per cent to £1.5bn in 2011. Income at investment bank arm Barclays Capital (BarCap) fell to £1.8bn [...]
Nine jailed over London Stock Exchange bomb plot February 9, 2012 Nine men have been jailed for their involvement in a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. The men, all British nationals, belonged to an al-Qaeda inspired group. Three – Mohammed Shahjahan, Usman Khan and Nazam Hussain – received indeterminate sentences for public protection. The other six received jail terms that ranged from five to [...]
Bank of England to pump in £50bn more quantitative easing February 9, 2012 The Bank of England has agreed to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme by £50bn try to kickstart the economy. It will bring the total amount of QE stimulus to £325bn. The Bank started its QE programme, through which it buys mainly government-issued bonds from banks freeing up cash for lending, in 2009. The Bank’s [...]
FTSE up as Greek endgame arrives February 9, 2012 The FTSE 100 crawled up this morning as investors braced themselves for an expected decision on a Greek debt deal and the prospect of the Bank of England pumping in another £50bn into its quantitative easing programme. Greek officials said pension cuts were the sticking point in talks which have lurched from one crisis point [...]
UK in industrial output boost as trade deficit narrows February 9, 2012 British industrial output recovered more than forecast in December as manufacturers ramped up production, further dampening fears of recession. Meanwhile, Britain’s goods trade deficit narrowed to the smallest gap since February 2010. The rebound from the slump in the previous two months also supports views that the Bank of England will inject only £50bn into [...]
Rolls-Royce profits surge February 9, 2012 Aero enginemaker Rolls-Royce posted a 21 per cent rise in full-year profit, and said it expects to deliver further growth in 2012, helped by its record order book. Rolls, the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind US group General Electric Co, reported an underlying pretax profit of £1.16bn on revenue up four per cent [...]
Diageo sees emerging markets offsetting weak Europe February 9, 2012 Diageo, the world’s biggest spirits group, delivered an upbeat message with strongly growing emerging markets and a slow recovery in North America helping to offset continued weakness in euro zone crisis hit Europe. The British maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka said its half year underlying profits grew 9 per cent making it [...]
Credit Suisse reports loss February 9, 2012 Credit Suisse posted a fourth-quarter net loss after taking almost 1 billion Swiss francs (£675.5m) of charges to speed cost cutting and offload risky assets to meet stiffer capital rules. “Our performance for the fourth quarter 2011 was disappointing,” said chief executive Brady Dougan. “It reflects both the adverse market conditions during the period and [...]
Vodafone misses forecasts in third quarter February 9, 2012 Vodafone posted third quarter results slightly below forecasts as increasingly tough trading in Spain and Italy overshadowed solid performances in emerging markets and northern Europe for the world’s largest mobile operator. Vodafone said group organic service revenue, which comes from the provision of ongoing services to customers, was up 0.9 per cent, compared with an [...]
Miners buoy FTSE as Greece remains on knife edge February 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as investors continued to cling onto hopes that Greece could be steered away from financial meltdown. Greek party leaders were set to meet again today to hammer out a reform deal in return for the new €130bn rescue from the IMF and EU. Leaders of [...]
