Tough lending conditions push firms into leasing IT equipment January 10, 2013 THE DIFFICULTY of obtaining credit is driving firms to lease equipment they need, according to figures seen by City A.M. The use of asset finance to procure IT hardware and software soared 26 per cent during the year to September 2012, data from Syscap revealed, hitting £1.34bn, up from £1.07bn in the same period a [...]
Jobless claims in US edge up at start of year January 10, 2013 US NEW jobless claims edged higher in the first week of January, according to data out yesterday, but stayed below the figure for a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted new unemployment insurance claims climbed by 4,000 to hit 371,000 in the week ending 5 January, the Department of Labor revealed. However, overall the labour market looks [...]
City Moves for 11 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 10, 2013 Rathbones The investment management firm has appointed Mike Townsend as investment director. He joins from Coutts, where he was a senior private banker. Townsend has 34 years’ experience in wealth management, and is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment. City Financial The fund management firm has appointed Mark Harris as manager [...]
Best of the Brokers January 10, 2013 G4S RBC has lifted the security company from “Outperform” to “Top Pick” with a price target of 320p, believing it will catch up with its peers after having underperformed the services sector by 27 per cent last year, as well as the FTSE 100 by 11 per cent. In 2013, G4S is likely to see [...]
Profit-taking cannot halt FTSE as it hits highest close since May 2008 January 10, 2013 BRITAIN’S top share index closed above the 6,100 resistance level for the first time since 22 May 2008, yesterday, recovering from a late wobble after a choppy trading session. The FTSE 100 index was up 2.86 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 6,101,51, having seen some late profit-taking erased in the closing auction, but the [...]
Bullish Chinese data sends US shares upward January 10, 2013 US stocks rose yesterday and the S&P 500 ended at a fresh five-year high as stronger-than- expected exports from China spurred optimism about global growth prospects. Buying accelerated late in the day after the S&P 500 broke through technical resistance at 1,466.47, which was the market’s closing level last Friday and the highest level since [...]
Britain is bound to a Single Market at the expense of freedom to trade January 10, 2013 HOW often do we hear politicians claiming that “half our exports” go to the EU? I’m not sure this statistic was ever properly true. The data has been distorted in two ways. First, there is what economists call the “Rotterdam effect”: many British exports destined for non-EU markets are routed through Antwerp and Rotterdam, thus [...]
The lessons of politicians aren’t worth mulling over your breakfast Frosties January 10, 2013 TWO weeks into my New Year’s resolution and it’s already time to admit that it’s not going well. At least I can take some comfort in the knowledge that the coalition hasn’t lived up to its promises either, missing 70 election pledges according to its mid-term audit. When I fail to hit my weekly target [...]
The UK’s credit rating will fall victim to the failure to tweak RPI January 10, 2013 WHEN asked who your favourite chancellor is, it’s fashionable to reply William Gladstone. He is the man who helped construct the Victorian liberal state, based on free trade and small government. But while Gladstone was certainly brilliant, my own choice is Neville Chamberlain, who successfully steered Britain out of the 1930s Depression. It was a [...]
After clothing sales slumped at M&S, can the traditional high street retailer survive? January 10, 2013 YES Neil Saunders Retail can be seen as a game of two halves. Last year, spending through physical outlets grew by 0.2 per cent, whereas online retail spending grew by 13 per cent. But while the growth of online has put pressure on physical retailing, the situation is not all doom and gloom. Firstly, the [...]
