Japan’s consumer confidence up February 9, 2012 Japanese consumer confidence improved in January from the previous month, a Cabinet Office survey showed yesterday, but uncertainty over Europe’s debt problem and worries about the financial markets may hinder steady recovery. The survey’s sentiment index for general households, which includes views on incomes and jobs, was 40 in January, up from 38.9 in December. [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 9, 2012 ICAEW Arthur Bailey has been elected as the next vice-president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). Bailey, who will take office on 13 June, has served on ICAEW’s council for 14 years, including three years as chairman of the audit committee, and is a member of the board. He is [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 9, 2012 YOOX Goldman Sachs maintains its conviction “buy” rating on the Italian online fashion retailer with a target price of €16.80, after it reported strong full-year 2011 sales, implying fourth-quarter revenues nine per cent ahead of company consensus. The broker believes Yoox is well-positioned within two growth trends – the expansion of internet retail and the [...]
Signs of a solution in Greece send the FTSE edging higher February 9, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed modestly higher yesterday, supported by oil and banking stocks after BG Group reported strong results and Greece moved closer to securing a bailout package that will avert a chaotic default. The FTSE 100 closed 19.54 points or 0.3 per cent higher at 5,895.47 after hitting a six-month intraday high of [...]
Modest gains for Wall Street stocks February 9, 2012 US stocks rose modestly for a third straight day yesterday after Greece reached a deal to secure a financial bailout, but investors were cautious after weeks of gains. Tech shares, led by Apple, gave a lift to the Nasdaq index and were the session’s strongest sector. Skepticism that Greece would follow through on promised austerity [...]
Too many children are being taken into care: the Baby P witch hunters are to blame February 9, 2012 WHEN Sharon Shoesmith, the former director of Haringey Children’s Services, became the scapegoat for the death of Peter Connelly or “Baby P”, almost everyone joined the witch hunt. The media went for her with a viciousness that knew no bounds while Ed Balls, then Children’s Secretary, took the unprecedented step of ordering her dismissal (unfairly, [...]
We skirt around the issues with quota proposals February 9, 2012 SPEAKING at a summit in Sweden yesterday, the Prime Minister revisited the issue of women in business, saying that he wanted to “accelerate” the increase in women on the boards of top UK firms. Although he said he would not rule out quotas (though Downing Street subsequently did), David Cameron said he would prefer to [...]
Don’t allow politicians to read Dickens for us February 9, 2012 WHAT would Charles Dickens do? If he were alive today, support everyone’s favourite cause it seems. In the author’s bicentennial year, everyone wants a piece. Schools minister Nick Gibb announced this week, referring to shocking levels of student illiteracy, that there are “shadows of Dickens’s world in our own” and called for more ambition in [...]
RAPID RESPONSES February 9, 2012 Greek gamblers Despite yesterday’s progress, with Greece’s long list of missed deadlines, and its opposition to keeping spending cuts promises, do Greek officials feel Eurozone officials will not allow the country to default? Greece will get the chance to put that theory to the test on 20 March, when €14.5bn (£12.13bn) in bond payments will [...]
Give your home a dash of V-Day love February 9, 2012 PINK HEART PAPER DOILIES £3.95 www.dotcomgiftshop.com Incredibly simple and cheap way to make your table setting on Tuesday Valentine’s-ready: at under £4 for a set of 72, you can scatter them generously, then forget about them. STONEWARE DEEP-HEART DISH, LE CREUSET £42 www.lecreuset.co.uk Add some real heart to your Valentine’s dinner and future stews and [...]
