SENTANCE’S FINAL CALL AS A BANK OFFICIAL May 25, 2011 ANDREW Sentance made his final hawkish call as a member of the Bank of England yesterday, urging it to rescue its credibility by normalising interest rates. Globalisation is increasingly causing global price pressures, which national authorities will have to respond to, he said. Sentance expects “a prolonged period of upward pressure on energy and commodity [...]
Durable orders tumble in the US May 25, 2011 New orders for long-lasting US factory goods fell more than expected in April to record their largest decline in six months, as aircraft and motor vehicle orders tumbled, a government report showed yesterday. Durable goods orders dropped 3.6 per cent after an upwardly revised 4.4 per cent rise in March.
US mortgage applications rise… May 25, 2011 Mortgage applications in America rose by 1.1 per cent in the week ending 20 May, in another positive sign for ailing US housing market. On Tuesday new home sales were reported at increasing by 7.3 per cent in April.
…yet American house prices fall May 25, 2011 Prices of US homes plummeted in the first quarter of the year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said yesterday. Prices were down 2.5 per cent compared to the final three months of 2010, and 5.5 per cent lower than the same time last year. Yet the fall in March (0.3 per cent) was less severe [...]
GE Capital in £3bn sell-off May 25, 2011 GE CAPITAL is selling its A$5bn (£3.2bn) Australia and New Zealand mortgages books to Pepper Homeloans as concerns rise over a softening of the Australian housing market and the rising cost of funds. GE Capital, which shed part of its Australian home loans portfolio in 2008 when global conglomerates were restructuring their lending arms, said [...]
Total lengthens SunPower offer after regulatory delay May 25, 2011 FRENCH oil company Total has extended its offer to buy up to 60 per cent of US solar company SunPower by two weeks after consultations with European regulators led to a delay. The offer will now expire on 14 June, Total said yesterday, adding it has carried out a number of consultations with the European [...]
Watson Pharmaceuticals extends global reach with Specifar deal May 25, 2011 WATSON Pharmaceuticals yesterday acquired privately held generic drug developer Specifar Pharmaceuticals for $562m (£345.2m) in cash, expanding its global footprint. Watson said yesterday it expects the deal to immediately add to 2011 non-GAAP earnings. Specifar is a third-party product developer, with some 400 marketing authorisations licensed to third parties for sale in 36 countries, predominantly [...]
PROFITS DOWN AT POLO RALPH LAUREN May 25, 2011 POLO Ralph Lauren yesterday posted lower-than-expected quarterly results and said higher raw material costs and business interruptions in Japan would hurt full-year margins, sending its shares down more than 10 per cent. The clothing maker, whose brands include Polo, Club Monaco and Chaps, said net income fell to $73.2m (£44.9m), or 74 cents a share, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 25, 2011 Cable & Wireless The telecoms company has appointed Ian Gibson as chief financial officer and executive director, with effect from 21 July. Gibson joined the group in 1995 and has held a number of senior management positions, most recently deputy chief financial officer. In 2009 he was appointed as acting chief financial officer and played [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 25, 2011 PRUDENTIAL Nomura rates the insurer “reduce” with a target price of 735p. The broker thinks the Pru’s valuation could be called into question by the expected sales slowdown in the States, and believes the market is currently underestimating the firm’s exposure to the US market. Nomura recommends switching to AXA, which is forecast to return [...]
