Private sector buoys Logica May 4, 2011 IT services company Logica yesterday beat quarterly sales growth forecasts due to stronger private-sector demand for outsourcing and said its British operation should return to growth in the second-half. The Anglo-Dutch company, hit by public spending cuts in Europe, said it continued to expect growth above the market rate and a modest margin improvement this [...]
Siemens raises its outlook May 4, 2011 German technology group Siemens, a bellwether of the Eurozone’s biggest economy, raised its full-year outlook after robust demand from factories in emerging markets bolstered its second-quarter business. Siemens, whose products range from hearing aids and light bulbs to fast trains and power plants, said yesterday it saw broad-based growth in all markets, with strong appetite [...]
Spirent profit up on high demand May 4, 2011 Spirent Communications reported an 11 per cent rise in first-quarter pre-tax profit, driven by higher demand from telecom customers. The telecoms testing firm was upbeat about its prospects for the rest of the year. For the last quarter its pre-tax profit was $23.6m (£14.3m), compared with $21.3m a year ago. Revenue climbed 14 per cent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS SAGE OUT OF THE WOODS? May 4, 2011 JULIAN YATES | INVESTEC The results were overall in-line, driven by slightly better revenues but due to higher financing costs, earnings per share were just one per cent ahead. The US remains a concern with underperformance at both the top and bottom line. PAUL MORLAND | PEEL HUNT Growth momentum has continued, but investment in [...]
Bank reveals weak lending on mortgages May 4, 2011 SLUGGISH mortgage lending and stuttering house prices continue to haunt the UK’s housing market, a series of data releases showed yesterday. Mortgage lending grew by just £400m in March, the Bank of England revealed – below increases of £1bn and £1.7bn in the two previous months, and an average jump of £800m over the last [...]
Housing construction slows May 4, 2011 HOUSING activity shrank in April, knocking growth in the UK’s construction sector, it was revealed yesterday. In a minor blow to the UK’s second-quarter growth prospects, construction fell over three points in the latest purchasing managers’ index. “The index still indicates expansion, but the bleaker outlook implies a slowing of building activity this year,” said [...]
Inflation threatens the drivers of Euro area’s two speed economic recovery May 4, 2011 GROWTH in the Eurozone remained strong in April, figures revealed yesterday, yet struggling peripheral states and stubborn inflation are casting a shadow over its economic recovery. Prices charged for goods and services in the single currency area rose at the fastest rate since July 2008, composite purchasing managers’ indices (PMI) confirmed. While input costs rose [...]
US service sector growth disappoints as dollar dips May 4, 2011 THE US dollar fell sharply in morning trading yesterday after the ISM non-manufacturing report showed the pace of growth in the services sector unexpectedly eased in April. The index dropped sharply to 52.8 per cent in April, 4.5 percentage points lower than the 57.3 per cent registered in March. Figures above 50 per cent indicate [...]
Money supply and credit conditions remain tight May 4, 2011 CONSUMER credit, excluding mortgages, rose by just £100m in March, considerably below economists’ expectations, the Bank of England said yesterday, And the Bank’s preferred gauge of money supply, M4 excluding intermediate other financial corporations rose by 0.1 per cent on the month — down 1.1 per cent on the same time last year. “Today’s money [...]
CITY A.M. | SHADOW MPC STICKS AT 6-3 AGAINST RAISING RATES May 4, 2011 ALLISTER HEATH | CITY A.M. “Quarter-point rise. Consumer price inflation is still expected to touch five per cent in the coming months, while the UK has recovered reasonably from the winter freeze. A gradual normalisation is required.” SIMON WARD | HENDERSON “Half-point rise. February’s inflation report signalled that rate hikes would be necessary to return [...]
