Obama requests another $1.2 trillion extension to America’s debt ceiling January 12, 2012 THE WHITE House said last night that President Barack Obama would formally request the next US debt ceiling increase in “days not weeks.” “It’s imminent,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing. Congress is unlikely to block the expected $1.2 trillion (£783bn) increase request, which is meant to ensure the debt limit will [...]
China’s inflation slows as authorities hope to loosen January 12, 2012 CONSUMER price inflation in China has slowed to its lowest level in 15 months, giving the government more room to tilt economic policy away from restraining prices and towards supporting sagging growth. Prices rose by 4.1 per cent in the 12 months to December, down from 4.2 per cent in November. The December figures was [...]
US recovery knocked by bearish data January 12, 2012 US RETAIL growth slowed in December and unemployment benefit claims rose last week, according to data published by the Commerce Department and Labor Department. Sales increased by 0.1 per cent in the month, down from 0.4 per cent in November, yesterday’s figures showed. The rise represents the slowest pace for seven months. Almost all sales [...]
Provident upbeat despite Britons looking cautious January 12, 2012 SHARES in sub-prime lender Provident Financial bounced nearly five per cent yesterday after it reported a dip in impairments. The stock closed up 4.84 per cent at 995.5p after Provident said impairments in the consumer credit division were running below the 2010 level. Collections were “strong” as customers’ behaviour remained cautious in the fourth quarter. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 12, 2012 Association of British Insurers The ABI board has appointed Robert Talbut, chief investment officer of Royal London Asset Management, as chairman of the ABI investment committee. Previously the committee’s deputy chairman, he takes over from Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors. Talbut is a member of the Listing Authority advisory committee and an alternate on [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 12, 2012 UNILEVER Morgan Stanley rates the consumer goods group “equal-weight”, down from “overweight”, and has a target share price of €28 (£23.43). The broker notes that Unilever shares are at all-time highs and that investors should aim to take profits. Morgan Stanley also sees very limited scope for any earnings upgrades in 2012, leaving the shares [...]
FTSE ends lower as retailers reveal a miserable Christmas January 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell yesterday after a profit warning from Tesco triggered sharp falls in retailers and eclipsed a lift for banks from a successful Spanish debt auction and restructuring at RBS. The FTSE 100 index closed down 8.40 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,662.42, once again missing out in a tilt at the [...]
Wall St sees gains for the fourth day January 12, 2012 THE S&P 500 closed at a five-month high for the third day on yesterday but had difficulty extending gains in the face of lackluster economic data and another European bond market test. Energy shares curbed gains after Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, said fourth-quarter profit would be far below the previous quarter. Chevron slid [...]
Tesco’s marketing strategy needs a new broom in 2012 to sweep away its Clubcard January 12, 2012 THESE were bad figures, Tesco can’t get away from that. Britain’s biggest retailer reported its worst Christmas sales performance for decades on Thursday and warned it would see minimal profit growth next year. Down 1.3 per cent like-for-like (including VAT) in the UK was much worse than any other figures we’ve had from the major [...]
Romney seeks a third victory to gain nomination January 12, 2012 IT MAY pain the political class, but Mitt Romney deserves some credit. He has now accomplished what Reagan, both Bushes, Dole, and McCain all failed to do – win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Romney now finds himself heading to South Carolina searching for an unprecedented hat-trick. Although surrounded by loyal supporters, Romney’s victory remarks [...]
