Germany and France endure gloomy stats August 8, 2012 GERMANY’S exports fell in June, official statistics showed yesterday, though imports fell even faster, expanding the trade deficit. Industrial output also slid 0.9 per cent, after rising 1.9 per cent in May. The patchy data didn’t deter ratings agency Fitch from affirming its AAA rating with a stable outlook. And one of the founding fathers [...]
HP forced to write off $8bn on struggling services arm August 8, 2012 TECH giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) yesterday increased its third quarter earnings forecast despite an $8bn (£5.1bn) writedown on the value of its services business. The staggering writedown, attributed by HP to market conditions coupled with recent trading values of its stock, provided fuel for analysts who accused HP of overpaying for its $13bn acquisition of EDS [...]
Sky appeal on sports upheld August 8, 2012 SKY could be free to charge its rivals higher prices for its sports channels after winning a competition appeal against Ofcom yesterday. The competition appeals tribunal found the regulator’s concerns over Sky’s dominance to be “unfounded”, paving the way for rules to be lifted on the amount Virgin Media and BT pay for Sky Sports [...]
Sales flattening at McDonald’s August 8, 2012 MCDONALD’S yesterday reported flat sales in July at established restaurants around the world, its worst performance in more than nine years and a sign that a weakening global economy is hitting discretionary spending among mainstream diners. The results marked the first time since April 2003 that same-restaurant sales failed to rise. Just two weeks ago, [...]
Rio Tinto bets on expansion as profits drop August 8, 2012 IN WHAT has become a torrid fortnight for mining companies, Rio Tinto yesterday unveiled a 34 per cent slump in first half profits to $5.5bln (£3.3bn). However declining global demand for natural resources hit Rio less dramatically than its peers: Xstrata and Anglo-American have all revealed sharp falls in underlying earnings over the past two [...]
Government claims businesses helped it save £5.5bn last year August 8, 2012 BIG names from the business world assisted the government in finding over £5.5bn in efficiency savings during the last fiscal year, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude revealed this morning. The coalition claims it has cut £9.25bn from the last two years of central government budgets, and hit out at Labour leader Ed Miliband for failing [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | HOW DID RIO TINTO DO AGAINST ANALYSTS’ EXPECTATIONS? August 8, 2012 JONATHAN JACKSON KILLIK & CO The shares have been weak and volatile performers this year, driven by near-term risks surrounding the outlook for global growth and higher industry costs. However, we are positive on the stock, and believe it is a highly liquid way to gain exposure to long-term emerging market growth. CAILEY BARKER NUMIS [...]
Agony for Brits as medal streak finally runs aground August 8, 2012 GREAT Britain’s new-found sense of Olympic invincibility was pricked yesterday, when a series of near misses meant Team GB failed to win a medal for the first time since the first day of the London 2012 Games. Rookie 110m hurdler Lawrence Clarke, who only took up athletics four years ago, was among the closest to [...]
Reade is ready after watching from sidelines August 8, 2012 GREAT Britain’s Shanaze Reade admitted she was relieved to have finally started her Olympics campaign after qualifying for tomorrow’s BMX semi-final races. Reade, 23, has been given starting gate three in Friday’s first semi-final after her lap of 39.368 seconds made her the fifth fastest – Australia’s time trial world champion Caroline Buchanan was the [...]
It’s tough to back a European at the US PGA August 8, 2012 THE US PGA Championship may not be the most popular of the four Majors from the fans’ perspective, but there’s no doubt that the players involved will regardless want to win this as much as any other event. The Ocean course at Kiawah Island – where this will begin today – is fantastic, a great [...]
