Construction plunges August 5, 2008 Construction activity fell to a record low in July, driven by the collapse of the housing market and the stuttering economy, the latest survey showed yesterday. According to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s construction PMI, building levels fell to 36.7 last month, from 38.8 in June. Any reading below 50 means the sector [...]
Imperial surges as India and China launch rival bids August 5, 2008 China and India are going head to head in a bidding war to take over British oil and gas firm Imperial Energy, sending its shares shooting up by 8 per cent yesterday. China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, the state-owned oil company commonly known as Sinopec, has approached Imperial with an offer in the region of [...]
HSBC profits hit as bad debt surges August 5, 2008 Europe’s largest bank announces a 28 per cent drop in earnings as crunch bites HSBC chairman Stephen Green insisted yesterday that his bank’s performance was “resilient”, despite a 28 per cent fall in profits and a surge in bad debt charges to more than $10bn (£5bn). Interim pre-tax profits at Europe’s largest bank fell from [...]
Captain Kevin leads England into new era August 5, 2008 Kevin Pietersen insists the responsibility of captaining England won’t change him Kevin Pietersen believes the added responsibility of captaining his country will not affect his attacking playing style, as he prepares to lead England into an exciting new era. The 28-year-old was officially unveiled at Lord’s yesterday following the shock resignations of Michael Vaughan and [...]
Rest assured, Pietersen won’t change his style August 5, 2008 Much of the concern surrounding Kevin Pietersen’s installation as England captain seems to focus on whether the added responsibility will alter his attacking playing style. But while it’s a valid point, I don’t think there’s any need for concern as KP has the confidence and belief in his own ability to carry both off to [...]
Bopara gets second chance for England August 5, 2008 Ravi Bopara could be given the chance to revive his Test career at The Oval on Thursday after being drafted into the squad to replace the absent Michael Vaughan. Bopara has a disastrous record in his three Tests for England, but has won his way back into the hearts of the selectors after enjoying a [...]
10 Ways to avoid stress August 5, 2008 Relaxing during a busy day need not take up time and money, says Zoe Strimpel There’s a lot of stress out there at the moment, what with holidays being cut short and cancelled, workloads ratcheting up and lunchtimes shrinking even more than normal. You probably need to de-stress, but sometimes popping out a massage or [...]
The top five tools to improve your trading August 5, 2008 Master technical analysis, but don’t get too bogged down in the details, says Katie Hope Any body logging onto a retail contracts for difference (CFD) trading platform for the first time could end up a bit dazzled. It’s like an online 80s disco, all flashing lights and neon colours. Just add some leg warmers and [...]
How entrepreneurs are helping combat the credit crunch August 5, 2008 You might think that the credit crunch is going to shift power back to the banks as they call in loans and overdrafts, and reset terms and conditions. To a certain extent that is true. But what is also true is that the non-bank lenders, such as Zopa, the social lending marketplace, and Wonga, the [...]
Sage expects to deflect the credit crunch August 5, 2008 Business software maker Sage yesterday said that its second quarter profits were up by 12 per cent, fuelling hopes that it will hold strong in the face of challenging market conditions. Despite increased competition in the small to medium enterprise (SME) market, the company continued to grow ahead of market expectations, posting an increase of [...]
