Black cab firm in profit alert January 9, 2012 Black cab maker Manganese Bronze has said it made no profit in 2011 and could fall miss targets this year. The group blamed the weak UK economy, uncertainty over the global economic outlook and a delay in fulfilling an order for 1,000 taxis from Azerbaijan. The firm sold 1,502 taxis in the UK last year, [...]
Enquest makes Kraken deal January 9, 2012 UK-focused oil firm Enquest yesterday announced a deal to buy a 20 per cent stake in the Kraken oil discovery in the North Sea. The deal, which lifted Enquest’s share price 2.7 per cent, also boosts Enquest’s new partner in the field, smaller explorer Nautical Petroleum. “Enquest moving in strengthens the partnership there and endorses [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 9, 2012 Just-Eat The world’s largest online takeaway business has appointed John Hughes as chairman to replace Klaus Nyengaard, who continues as group chief executive. Hughes previously held senior positions at Thales Group, Lucent Technologies and Hewlett Packard. He is also chairman of Telecity Group and a non-executive Director of CSG Systems International. In addition, he is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 9, 2012 ARM HOLDINGS FinnCap rates the Cambridge-based chipmaker as a “hold” with a target price of 575p, saying the company is at the heart of the mobile revolution, with its low power products ubiquitous in smartphone and tablet processors. The broker says the shares are “worth picking up on a bad day”, with plenty of upside [...]
Financials under pressure as Greek default fears rekindled January 9, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed down yesterday with financials under pressure after a warning by German Chancellor Angela Merkel reignited fears of a Greek default, while GlaxoSmithKline fell on worries over its key lung drug Relovair. London’s blue chip index closed down 37.42 points or 0.7 per cent at 5,612.26, with volumes just 88 per cent [...]
US stocks up amid cautious investing January 9, 2012 US stocks ended slightly higher yesterday in a light-volume session as investors stayed cautious ahead of corporate earnings and key auctions for European debt this week. Alcoa advanced 0.8 per cent to $9.50 in extended trading after the largest US aluminium producer reported fourth-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, though a plunge in aluminium [...]
A slippery time ahead for oil prices January 9, 2012 CONTINUED geopolitical issues in Iran and its stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up oil prices over fears of a threat to supply, but will global economic weakness be enough to take the edge off these rises in the long term? SHORT TERM FEARS “Crude traders were of course spooked by the escalating [...]
THE TIPSTER January 9, 2012 THE retail festive sales reports are in full swing but today sees not just an ordinary update – this is a Marks and Spencer update. Expectations are for good food sales and based on a strong performance from fellow high street staple Next last week, the clothing side is expected to be none too shabby [...]
Analyst picks for 10 January 2012 January 9, 2012 QUANTITATIVE STRATEGIST DAVID RODRIGUEZ My pick: Sell euro rallies into $1.3000 Expertise: System trading Average time frame of trades: 2 to 10 weeks Market sentiment is incredibly one-sided, as non-commercial futures traders are their most net-short euro-dollar on record. Yet the trend is down until it isn’t, and I like selling euro strength as long [...]
No recessions for 80 years: The fanciful world of High Speed Rail 2’s business case January 9, 2012 AFTER the well-flagged decision this afternoon to press ahead with the first stage of the High Speed 2 rail project (HS2), the City and business will be pressed to “contribute” to the strong business case. An aspect that MPs are singularly ill-equipped to consider, but that the City will focus on, is the way the [...]
