Manufacturing still weak but shows signs of stabilising January 3, 2012 Manufacturing beat expectations in December, showing signs of stabilising after a two-month decline as orders from China and Germany picked up, although the risk of another recession persists, a survey shows. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.6 from an upwardly revised 47.7 in November, data compiler Markit said on Tuesday. The [...]
BMW: Premium car market to grow 8pc in 2012 January 3, 2012 BMW expects the global premium car market to grow more than twice as fast as the overall auto market this year, the German carmaker’s finance chief told a German newspaper. “Around the world, we see market growth of four per cent and more than eight per cent in the premium market,” Friedrich Eichiner told Sueddeutsche [...]
Asian stocks rise fuelled by positive China data January 3, 2012 Asian stocks rose as the first trading day of 2012 in most markets brought renewed appetite for riskier assets, while US crude jumped more than 1.5 per cent to above $100 a barrel on escalating tensions between Iran and the West. Stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China boosted sentiment in Asia, but Europe’s drawn-out debt crisis [...]
Copper prices rise on China demand January 3, 2012 London copper rose today as an expansion in China’s manufacturing boosted hopes that demand for industrial metals will increase, but investors remained cautious as Europe’s debt crisis persists. The metal posted its first annual decline in three years in 2011 when it lost a fifth of its value on fears related to the euro zone [...]
BP calls on Halliburton to shoulder Gulf spill costs January 3, 2012 BP has called on its contractor Halliburton to pay all costs and expenses the oil major incurred to clean up the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, according to a court filing by BP’s lead trial attorney. BP has spent $14bn in the Gulf Coast region in its response to the spill and set aside [...]
UK finance chiefs fear double dip recession January 2, 2012 THE UK is likely to suffer from a double dip recession, according to a gloomy survey of chief financial officers released today. The chances of another economic contraction have soared to 54 per cent, according to the latest Deloitte survey of CFOs. Back in October the chance of a double dip was estimated at just [...]
Cable calls for more transparency on HBOS January 2, 2012 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable has called for more information to be published about the disastrous merger of Lloyds and Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which saw the combined bank require a £37bn bailout. Speaking to City A.M., Cable suggested that those who were in charge when the merger went ahead should play a major role [...]
Factory stats help equities January 2, 2012 STOCKS in the Eurozone started 2012 with a boost, after data showed a slower than expected fall in manufacturing activity last month. Markit’s latest purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 46.9 in the final month of last year, up from a 28-month low of 46.4 in November. Large Eurozone economies such as Germany, France and [...]
Why 2012 will be Groundhog Year January 2, 2012 WELL good riddance to all that. Few would disagree that 2011 was truly an annus horribilis, a year defined by feckless politicians and unruly mobs. I, for one, felt a sense of relief when the chiming bells heralded the start of a new year; at certain times over the last twelve months, it felt as [...]
Spain deficit may exceed 8pc – official January 2, 2012 SPAIN’S economy minister admitted yesterday that the government’s deficit for last year could be higher than the eight per cent of GDP previously forecast. “We’ll need to see, but it’s possible that we have gone over the eight per cent mark,” Luis de Guindos said. “Though [we] expect that it hasn’t done so by much,” [...]
