UK’s mid-size firms can add £50bn to GDP October 23, 2011 THE UK is missing out on billions of pounds each year by ignoring the huge productivity growth potential of mid-sized companies, a leading business lobby group will say today. UK efforts to foster bigger small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – those with turnovers of £10m to £100m – have lagged behind countries such as the [...]
Well-run companies profit even in hard times October 23, 2011 YOU could be forgiven for not noticing, but it is earnings season again. Once you finish trawling through the endless speculation about the next phase of Eurozone debt crisis in the papers and on TV, you’ll eventually find some good old-fashioned company news reporting. Let me summarise. Well-run companies with good products are holding up [...]
First step onto property ladder eludes UK renters October 23, 2011 AS THE COST of rental accommodation creeps upwards, a survey released this morning reveals that over half the UK’s renters would like to buy their own home but can not afford to make the jump. “Trapped renters” amount to 55 per cent of the rental market, the Rightmove study shows. Over a quarter (27 per [...]
Economic turmoil hits steel makers October 23, 2011 BRITISH steel producers are cutting back production due to falling business morale across Europe, it was revealed this morning. Companies are running down stock levels over fears of tumbling demand in key markets. Steel production sank 7.3 per cent in the three months to September, compared to in the second quarter, a report from UK [...]
Inflation-linked taxes worry retailers October 23, 2011 INFLATION-linked hikes in business rates will offset any gains from government plans to encourage local businesses, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said today. Business rates are set to increase by a “colossal” 5.6 per cent in April, the BRC has warned, as it is tied to September’s level of the retail price index (RPI). [...]
Households struggling as prices rocket October 23, 2011 THE SQUEEZE on Britons’ finances is showing no sign of relaxing, according to a downbeat report by Markit, released this morning, thanks to job losses and soaring prices. The outlook for household finances plummeted to its lowest level for six months, Markit’s index has shown. The measure of people’s expectations for their finances over the [...]
Global recovery is set to bypass Europe in 2012 October 23, 2011 GROWTH prospects for 2011 have been slashed, but Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets is forecasting a rebound into 2012 in its latest quarterly bulletin. Global GDP will have increased by 3.8 per cent in 2011, the bank’s quarterly report predicts, down from earlier forecasts of 4.1 per cent. The G10 countries lead the slowdown, revised from [...]
Bumi close to refinancing CIC debt deal October 23, 2011 BUMI, the Indonesian coal mining firm created by Nat Rothschild, is understood to be close to finalising a deal to refinance the first part of the $1.9bn debt owed by one of its subsidiaries to the Chinese sovereign wealth fund. It was reported yesterday that the FTSE 100 firm, which owns a 29.2 per cent [...]
UBS set to cut its return on equity target, says report October 23, 2011 UBS will cut its return on equity target by five percentage points to 10-15 per cent at an investor day next month when the Swiss bank is expected to announce shrinking its investment bank, a newspaper reported yesterday. The SonntagZeitung said the new target would be announced by Sergio Ermotti who took over as interim [...]
Fairholme president resigns as weak performance buffets firm October 23, 2011 THE president and co-manager of Fairholme Capital Management has resigned, as the $8.9bn (£5.6bn) mutual fund firm continues to suffer from bets on financial stocks and a real-estate development company. Charles Fernandez, who was also a director, stepped down on 17 October for what Fairholme chief Bruce Berkowitz said were “personal reasons”. Fred Fraenkel, the [...]
