Berlusconi set for defeat in Italian elections February 25, 2013 There are reports of a low turnout in Silvio Berlusconi's key areas as voter numbers fall by 8% in the north west and 9.6% in the south and the islands. Berlusconi also lagged in recently leaked polls. A victory for the centre-left Democratic party is looking likely. While voting for both the Senate and lower [...]
Osborne’s AAA obsession February 25, 2013 The folks over at LabourList have produced a nice summary of the comments Osborne has made on maintaining AAA as an objective of Coalition policy. There are a few gems, but this comment from August 2009 illustrates just how attached Osborne was to the top-grade rating: “I have argued it with my opponents in difficult [...]
FTSE shrugs off downgrade February 25, 2013 THE blue chip index rose this morning – led by headline mining and banking shares – on signs that the US and Japan would continue loose monetary policy for some time. The FTSE 100 was up 0.7 per cent in early deals, as the market brushed off Moody’s downgrade of the UK’s AAA credit rating, [...]
Ikea latest in horsemeat scandal February 25, 2013 A Czech veterinary authority has found that the meatballs of Swedish home products company Ikea are contaminated with horse. Ikea is the latest to be implicated in a scandal that has been a public relations blow to other including Tesco, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl. Horse found in IKEA meatballs – not like them to include [...]
Shocking scale of Greek contraction revealed February 25, 2013 Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos has revealed that the country's economy has shrunk by some 20% from 2008 to 2012, and expects to see GDP fall by a further 4.5% in 2013. Average joblessness stood at 24.5% in 2012 and is also expected to rise this year. While Provopoulos claims that he expects recovery to [...]
Markets brush off UK downgrade February 25, 2013 Despite a drop in the pound after downgrade news on Friday, markets appear not to care that much about the UK losing its AAA rating. ESCP Europe Business School's Anthony Evans had this after the news on Friday: the Moody's downgrade is political news masquerading as economic news. — Anthony J. Evans (@anthonyjevans) February 23, 2013 [...]
Primark boosts AB Foods outlook February 25, 2013 ASSOCIATED British Foods forecast higher results this year than last, driven by an “outstanding” performance from subsidiary Primark. Adjusted operating profit will be higher than last year, while earnings per share for the first half will be “substantially” ahead of last year, AB Foods said this morning in a trading update. Primark sales in the [...]
Italian elections set to grip European bond markets February 25, 2013 Italy's two day elections are due to close today at 14:00, with leaked polls showing the centre-left coalition leading slightly ahead of Berlusconi's centre-right alliance (Financial Times). Our reporter Marion Dakers writes: Meanwhile, markets are awaiting the outcome a fiercely-fought Italian election that could foster more financial instability if the polls bring an unstable government. [...]
Pearson unveils restructuring plan as it forecasts flat earnings February 25, 2013 EDUCATION group Pearson said this morning it expects its 2013 earnings to be broadly flat on the prior year, as it launched a £150m restructuring plan. Sales rose five per cent at constant exchange rates to £6.1bn over the full year, with digital and services businesses contributing 50 per cent of revenues. Adjusted earnings per [...]
Bunzl hikes dividend as revenues rise February 25, 2013 OUTSOURCER Bunzl this morning hiked its dividend seven per cent, as revenue jumped six per cent over the year to December. Group revenue increased to £5.4bn over 2012 – up from £5.1bn in 2011 – driven by recent acquisitions. At the start of this year Bunzl snapped up four businesses for around £140m, including Chilean [...]
