I recreated all my favourite TV tropes, from crawling through pipes to being two kids in a trenchcoat
US recovery knocked by bearish data January 12, 2012 US RETAIL growth slowed in December and unemployment benefit claims rose last week, according to data published by the Commerce Department and Labor Department. Sales increased by 0.1 per cent in the month, down from 0.4 per cent in November, yesterday’s figures showed. The rise represents the slowest pace for seven months. Almost all sales [...]
Provident upbeat despite Britons looking cautious January 12, 2012 SHARES in sub-prime lender Provident Financial bounced nearly five per cent yesterday after it reported a dip in impairments. The stock closed up 4.84 per cent at 995.5p after Provident said impairments in the consumer credit division were running below the 2010 level. Collections were “strong” as customers’ behaviour remained cautious in the fourth quarter. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 12, 2012 Association of British Insurers The ABI board has appointed Robert Talbut, chief investment officer of Royal London Asset Management, as chairman of the ABI investment committee. Previously the committee’s deputy chairman, he takes over from Alain Dromer, CEO of Aviva Investors. Talbut is a member of the Listing Authority advisory committee and an alternate on [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 12, 2012 UNILEVER Morgan Stanley rates the consumer goods group “equal-weight”, down from “overweight”, and has a target share price of €28 (£23.43). The broker notes that Unilever shares are at all-time highs and that investors should aim to take profits. Morgan Stanley also sees very limited scope for any earnings upgrades in 2012, leaving the shares [...]
FTSE ends lower as retailers reveal a miserable Christmas January 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell yesterday after a profit warning from Tesco triggered sharp falls in retailers and eclipsed a lift for banks from a successful Spanish debt auction and restructuring at RBS. The FTSE 100 index closed down 8.40 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,662.42, once again missing out in a tilt at the [...]
Wall St sees gains for the fourth day January 12, 2012 THE S&P 500 closed at a five-month high for the third day on yesterday but had difficulty extending gains in the face of lackluster economic data and another European bond market test. Energy shares curbed gains after Chevron, the second-largest US oil company, said fourth-quarter profit would be far below the previous quarter. Chevron slid [...]
Tesco’s marketing strategy needs a new broom in 2012 to sweep away its Clubcard January 12, 2012 THESE were bad figures, Tesco can’t get away from that. Britain’s biggest retailer reported its worst Christmas sales performance for decades on Thursday and warned it would see minimal profit growth next year. Down 1.3 per cent like-for-like (including VAT) in the UK was much worse than any other figures we’ve had from the major [...]
Romney seeks a third victory to gain nomination January 12, 2012 IT MAY pain the political class, but Mitt Romney deserves some credit. He has now accomplished what Reagan, both Bushes, Dole, and McCain all failed to do – win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Romney now finds himself heading to South Carolina searching for an unprecedented hat-trick. Although surrounded by loyal supporters, Romney’s victory remarks [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 12, 2012 Back to school As a business studies teacher of many years standing, I read David Rutley’s column [Our schools must be open to business so we can have a bright economic future, Wednesday] with much interest. I agree wholeheartedly and believe much more should be done in order to promote the subject at school level. [...]
FOCUS ON: CHORLEYWOOD, HERTS January 12, 2012 THE COURT HOUSE, CHENIES Price: £2.15m Constructed in 1897, the house retains many of the original period features, including attractive fireplaces, parquet flooring to the principal rooms and sash windows to the drawing room and dining room. Contact Knight Frank on 01494 675368 WOODSIDE HOUSE Price: £1.35m Dating back to the mid 1800s, this house [...]
