Britain likely to miss recession, but growth is slow say analysts April 22, 2012 BRITAIN seems likely to have avoided a return to recession in the first quarter of 2012, with economists predicting very slow economic growth to be revealed by official statisticians on Wednesday. The economy shrank 0.3 per cent in the final three months of 2011, and a second negative quarter would push the UK into a [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW MUCH DID THE UK ECONOMY GROW IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THIS YEAR? April 22, 2012 HOWARD ARCHER IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “We have pencilled in overall GDP growth of 0.2 per cent in the first quarter. Based on all of the data and survey evidence available so far for the first quarter, we get the impression that the economy picked up in January, suffered a dip in February but then improved [...]
Russian oligarch warns London of complacency April 22, 2012 IT is an unusual perspective, albeit one that Oleg Deripaska clearly passionately believes in. A major philanthropist himself, the Russian tycoon, speaking exclusively to City A.M., describes oligarchs as the drivers of progress in Russia through their hefty donations to education, culture and public health. To UK ears, this is a fresh and fascinating take: [...]
Wal-Mart defends itself against claims it stopped bribery probe April 22, 2012 GLOBAL grocery giant Wal-Mart said it is “working hard” to get to the bottom of claims of corruption in Mexico, after reports alleged that it had “hushed up” an internal bribery probe. The New York Times had reported that in 2005, management at Wal-Mart closed an investigation into bribes paid to secure building permits. Wal-Mart [...]
AIM listings dominated by mining April 22, 2012 Nine companies listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market in the first three months of 2012 – an increase of one company compared to the same time last year, but with 30 per cent less money raised. The figure fell from £67m to £46.9m, according to analysis by Deloitte. In the first quarter 25 companies also [...]
Omega rebels demand board heads for exit April 22, 2012 ACTIVIST shareholders have lashed out at struggling insurer Omega, saying that they expect the firm to “do the right thing” and initiate a boardroom shake-up. Investors who are exasperated with the company’s poor results under chief executive Richard Pexton have now publicly set their sights on removing him and a number of other directors. Yesterday [...]
Aviva prepares to take a £1bn hit on US unit April 22, 2012 INSURANCE giant Aviva is expected to announce the sale of its American life assurance business next month, on which it will make a loss of £1bn. Chief executive Andrew Moss is set to announce the sale at an investor day on May 24 as part of a wider strategic overhaul of the company, according to [...]
FORMER LIB DEM DONOR EXTRADITED TO BRITAIN April 22, 2012 Convicted fraudster and former Liberal Democrat donor Michael Brown is facing extradition to the UK, four years after being found guilty of stealing from clients who thought he was a bond trader. Brown, currently being held in Madrid after being deported from the Dominican Republic, donated £2.4m to the Lib Dems in 2005.
Panel blames Budget for Tories’ poll tumble April 22, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s Budget is chiefly responsible for the Conservative party’s recent tumble in the opinion polls, according to our readers’ panel. The single biggest reason our panellists gave for Conservative support crumbling in recent weeks was simply the Budget as a whole, with one in five blaming Osborne’s entire red book for the party’s recent [...]
Norwich oil firm Acteon on the market for £1bn April 22, 2012 BRITISH oil services firm Acteon is up for sale for around £1bn as its private equity majority shareholder seeks to cash in, according to reports. American investor First Reserve has reportedly appointed bankers JP Morgan to dispose of the Norwich-based firm. First Reserve, which could not be reached for comment, bought a 52 per cent [...]
