JJB pledges support for Jones in spat July 7, 2009 AILING sportswear retailer JJB Sports yesterday backed its executive chairman Sir David Jones amid a growing storm over a £1.5m loan he received from Mike Ashley, chief executive of arch-rival Sports Direct. JJB Sports said that the board had given its “unanimous support” to Jones and said it believes “that he is the right person [...]
Wall Street suffers on stimulus fears July 7, 2009 US STOCKS fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks yesterday as talk of a second government stimulus plan heightened fears that the economy is not yet on the path to recovery and that the corporate earnings season starting this week will be weak. A member of the Obama administration’s economic advisory panel said the [...]
Miners give support as they rise to recoup their losses July 7, 2009 MINERS were the saviour of the FTSE 100 yesterday, offsetting falling oil stocks and disappointing UK industrial output data to keep the index flat, or just 7.91 points lower, at 4,187. Data showed that UK manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank in May, falling 0.5 per cent on the month, making it less likely the economy returned [...]
Rose ready for battle at M&S investor AGM July 7, 2009 MARKS & Spencer is bracing itself for an investor revolt for the second year in a row when shareholders gather for the retailer’s annual meeting today. A number of influential shareholder bodies have backed a resolution urging M&S to split the roles of chairman and chief executive currently held by Sir Stuart Rose. It is [...]
Strike threat as tube staff are balloted July 7, 2009 THOUSANDS of London commuters face further disruption this summer, as 600 staff at London Underground (LU) prepare to be balloted on industrial action, after union leaders rejected a final pay offer. Unite union said LU’s offer of 1.5 per cent in the first year and retail prices index (RPI) plus 0.5 per cent in the [...]
MARKETS ANTICIPATE EUROZONE RATES MAY FALL EVEN FURTHER July 7, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT LAST week the European Central Bank (ECB) left its monetary policy unchanged, stating that the current 1 per cent repo rate is appropriate. But the currency market may think differently. For the past several months pricing pressures in the Eurozone have been practically non-existent. Consumer inflation has been at [...]
Record US consumer defaults July 7, 2009 Soaring US unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit card debt and home equity loans to an all time high of 6.60 per cent from 5.52 per cent in the fourth quarter.
Commodity currencies on the turn July 7, 2009 OVER the past fortnight, risk aversion has returned with a vengeance as a string of data – including US unemployment figures and a downward revision to UK first quarter GDP – disappointed the markets. Foreign exchange markets have reacted predictably with both the US dollar and the Japanese yen strengthening markedly against the commodity currencies. [...]
CRH warns of profit nosedive July 7, 2009 Irish building materials group CRH yesterday warned pretax profit nosedived by 83 per cent in the first half and said trading would remain extremely difficult, but investors bet the worst was behind the group, sending its shares sharply up.
BoA seeks strength in staff July 7, 2009 Bank of America, yesterday promoted two investment bankers to strengthen relationships with its largest corporate clients amid departures following the Merrill Lynch takeover. Stefan Selig, a 10-year BoA veteran has been made executive vice chairman for global corporate and investment banking. Steven Baronoff, who was with Merrill Lynch, has become chairman of global M&A.
