New Europe drama closes Wall Street’s winning run January 24, 2012 US stock edged lower yesterday, ending a five-day rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500, as talks to resolve Greece’s debt crisis hit a snag and earnings from a number of blue chips disappointed. Greece moved closer to the possibility of a chaotic default as talks to restructure the country’s debt stalled. However, the US [...]
Yet another fine mess in the search for a European solution January 24, 2012 EURO-DOLLAR had another up and down ride yesterday. The release of better than expected Eurozone PMI composite figures gave the pairing an initial jump, but this brief optimisim that pushed euro-dollar up to $1.3062 quickly subsided when markets were reminded that the Eurozone is fundamentally more than a little shaky. Finance ministers rejecting a 4 [...]
THE TIPSTER January 24, 2012 BOTH the cricket team and the national currency are enjoying a good start to 2012, as the Aussie rallies on good economic data from China and the US that has emboldened the optimists in financial markets. A twelve-week high for this raciest of risky currencies however means that it is starting to look vulnerable to [...]
Tablet tactics at Carphone Warehouse January 24, 2012 SHARES in Carphone Warehouse leaped nearly eight per cent to 338p yesterday as the mobile phone retailer revealed it was on target to meet year-end expectations, despite the lagging pay-as-you-go trade, and laid out plans to penetrate the tablet market. The company behind advertising ploy “Mobly”, the animated mobile phone, estimated the UK-wide pre-pay market [...]
Mecom gets the paywall bug in strategic reshuffle January 24, 2012 EUROPEAN publishing group Mecom yesterday announced a strategic review that will see the company introduce a pay model across all of its platforms, including mobile and a range of iPad apps. The scheme, which will cost the group €70m (£58.4m), will also result in job cuts and the closure of up to 65 publications. The [...]
Siemens core profits slump January 24, 2012 Europe’s biggest engineering conglomerate Siemens suffered an unexpectedly sharp fall in core profit as the European debt crisis squeezed margins. Chief executive Peter Loescher warned yesterday that 2012 would be a difficult year for Germany’s largest company by market capitalisation, but stuck with a forecast for flat net income from continuing operations. Siemens said operating [...]
Sage soars despite tough times January 24, 2012 British software giant Sage said it remained on track with trading despite the economic environment in the UK. The company, which sells software to more than 6m businesses, gained £200m after selling Sage Software Healthcare to Vista Equity Partners, and bought back 17.7m shares for £50m. Sage, which marked its 30th anniversary last year, revealed [...]
Playtech upbeat about 2012 January 24, 2012 Online gaming software provider Playtech said it was optimistic of meeting full year expectations after revenues grew by 89 per cent year-on-year to £58m in the fourth quarter. The coming year bodes well for the group, which plans to take advantage of the opening of online gambling markets. The company, which was founded in 1999, [...]
Confidence at London firms falls sharply January 24, 2012 CONFIDENCE among London’s businesses has plummeted to its lowest level in two and a half years, according to a downbeat survey released this morning. Targeted tax cuts are needed to help kick start economic expansion in London, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) demanded. Fewer than four in 10 (38 per cent) of [...]
Child’s play: the UK toy market in 2011 January 24, 2012 THE UK was the top European market for toy sales in 2011, despite modest growth of just three per cent over the year. Sales in the Christmas week boosted figures, climbing 15 per cent thanks to the extra shopping day as Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday. In that one week alone sales totalled £131m, [...]
