WANdisco bookings leap January 15, 2013 Newly-listed British software company WANdisco said that it had seen a 76 per cent increase in bookings in the final quarter of last year. The firm’s technology, which allows staff and companies across the world to collaborate, has seen orders from Apple, Cisco and Fujitsu. WANdisco said it reached record bookings of $2.5m (£1.55m) during [...]
Igas raises £23m to search for shale January 15, 2013 Exploration firm Igas said yesterday it has raised £23m via a placing to help it look for shale gas. The placing was priced at 95p per share, around a 17 per cent discount to its closing price on Monday. The company said around £15m of the proceeds of its placing would be used to drill [...]
H&M sales drop less than expected January 15, 2013 H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, yesterday posted a smaller-than-expected two per cent drop in December sales at stores open a year or more. Total sales in December, the first month of the Swedish budget apparel firm’s fiscal year, were up eight per cent from a year earlier in local currencies, beating a forecast for [...]
Germany joins the Eurozone’s economic rout January 15, 2013 THE GERMAN economy contracted in the final quarter of 2012, official figures estimated yesterday, dealing a body blow to the Eurozone as its biggest and strongest member contributed to the recession afflicting the currency area. And inflation in the leading nation edged up again in December, further reducing the chances of the European Central Bank [...]
Fitch warns bank cost cutting is here to stay for years to come January 15, 2013 THE JOBS bloodbath in the City is not the end of banks’ efforts to tighten their belts, credit ratings agency Fitch warned yesterday, arguing that profitability will never return to pre-crisis levels. With challenges from the Eurozone crisis and a wave of new regulation hitting the industry, revenues will remain under pressure while costs will [...]
Eurozone trade figures a rare glimmer of hope for the bloc January 15, 2013 A SEEMINGLY unbroken spate of gloomy Eurozone data was yesterday broken by figures showing the currency bloc had expanded its trade surplus during November. The beleaguered currency area sold €13.7bn (£11.4bn) more to the rest of the world than it bought, Eurostat revealed, beating the €9.3bn surplus it achieved in October, and the €4.9bn seen one [...]
November saw accelerating house prices January 15, 2013 THE HOUSING market heated up in November, according to the most comprehensive official data, released yesterday. The Office for National Statistics’ house price index climbed 2.1 per cent in the 12 months to November 2012, up from the 1.5 per cent growth recorded in the year to October. This overall acceleration was driven by soaring London prices, [...]
Public sector loath to build link between performance and pay January 15, 2013 REFORMING the public sector could be compromised if state employees cannot be convinced that their pay should reflect how well they do their job, a human relations body said this morning. Only 36 per cent of public staff came out in favour of performance-related pay in a survey released this morning, carried out by the Chartered [...]
US retail enjoys welcome shot in the arm from Christmas 2012 January 15, 2013 THE US enjoyed a healthy climb in retail sales during the all-important December period, official data revealed yesterday. Retail and food services sales in December were $415.7bn (£258.4bn), the Commerce Department said, up 4.7 per cent on the year, and up 0.5 per cent on the month – even correcting for seasonal variations. The entire Christmas lead-up [...]
City Moves for 16 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 15, 2013 Amundi The asset management firm has appointed Christian Pellis as its global head of external distribution. He joins from LGT Capital Management, where he was head of distribution and a member of its executive board. Pellis has also held senior roles at Fleming Fund Management in Luxembourg, and at Threadneedle Investments. Pioneer Investments Jon Bailie [...]
