Factories and shops caught up in gloom December 15, 2011 FRENZIED discounting across high street stores failed to stave off a drop in retail sales last month as wary consumers continued to rein in their spending in the crucial Christmas trading period. And in more bearish news for the economy, a survey from the CBI showed that orders at manufacturers have slumped to their lowest [...]
US jobless claims fall to a three-and-a-half-year low December 15, 2011 THE NUMBER of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a three-and-a-half-year low last week and factory activity in New York state scaled a seven-month high in December, more evidence of a pick-up in economic activity in the States. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000, the [...]
Lenders expect repossessions to rise in 2012 December 15, 2011 MORTGAGE lenders expect the number of repossessions to shoot up by over 20 per cent next year, figures out yesterday revealed. Around 37,000 properties have been repossessed this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates, and it expects the figure to rise to around 45,000 in 2012. And while mortgage lending grew in November [...]
MANAGERS PULL THE PLUG ON THE OPENING OF NEW £25M SOHO CLUB December 15, 2011 IT SEEMS The Capitalist spoke too soon about the resurgence in Piccadilly’s entertainment scene. Just hours before the champagne was due to be uncorked at the new £25m club Dstrkt on Rupert Street, as reported yesterday (15 December), the long-awaited launch was abruptly cancelled. No official word on why last night’s opening didn’t go ahead [...]
London 2012 Image of the week December 15, 2011 On Tuesday, BT launched its torchbearer nomination process. BT is one of three presenting partners for the Paralympic torch relay – the others being Lloyds TSB and Sainsbury’s. On 28 and 29 August next year, 580 torchbearers will work in teams of five to carry the flame during an overnight relay from Stoke Mandeville to [...]
FedEx to buy new planes as profits rise December 15, 2011 FEDEX reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit yesterday and said it is buying 27 new Boeing aircraft to update its fleet for fuel efficiency and cost savings. The company also said it is deferring delivery of some Boeing freighter aircraft, adjusting for slowing volume out of Asia. The world’s second-biggest package delivery company reported second-quarter net [...]
HiWave sees losses widen December 15, 2011 HIWAVE Technologies reported losses of £3.9m for the 15 month period to 30 September, up from £2m in 2010. The company reached a turnover of £2m in the period, which was longer than usual due to a financial year change, just up from £1.9m in 2010. HiWave also reported total assets of £5.3m, a hefty [...]
WPP expands in Singapore December 15, 2011 ADVERTISING giant WPP has acquired a majority stake in Qais Consulting, the Singapore-based digital marketing agency, for an undisclosed amount. VML, the digital marketing arm of WPP, will be joined with Qais, which boasts Standard Chartered, the Singapore Ministry of Defence and Sony among its clients. Qais’ revenues for 2010 were S$4m (£2m) with gross [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS December 15, 2011 CAIRN ENERGY Investec rates the energy explorer “hold” with a target price of 291p. Despite the “early Christmas present” of a 154p per share dividend in the wake of Cairn’s deal with Vedanta, the broker remains cautious about the firm’s prospects, pointing to a lack of success in Greenland and weak growth in India. Investec [...]
Ex-Olympus chief slams shareholders December 15, 2011 THE WHISTLEBLOWER in Japan’s Olympus scandal, ex-chief executive Michael Woodford, blasted Japanese shareholders yesterday for failing to stand up for him, amid signs that domestic and foreign investors are split over his campaign to be reinstated. Woodford, an Englishman who was a rare foreign CEO in Japan, went public with his concerns over crooked accounting [...]
