NCC acquisitions boost profits January 20, 2011 British computer-security firm NCC Group yesterday posted a rise in first-half profit, aided by acquisitions, and said it was looking for more purchases to expand its presence in the US. The company, which tests IT security and holds copies of software source code in escrow, would be looking at a “nice little cash deal,” chief [...]
High demand helps IQE’s revenues January 20, 2011 Chip semiconductor company IQE has reported that its second-half 2010 revenues and profits continued to show strong growth, as a result of higher demand for the companies speciality advanced semiconductor wafer products. The company, a leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductor wafers and related services to the semiconductor industry, indicated that revenues for companies second half [...]
Fifth Third Bancorp repays TARP January 20, 2011 Fifth Third Bancorp joined the ranks of regional banks repaying US government bailout money yesterday, through a $1.7bn (£1.1bn) share offering. The bank sold 121.4m shares for $14 each and said it would use the proceeds, along with those from a senior debt offering and other funds, to repurchase preferred shares it sold to the [...]
Inflation peril after factory prices rocket January 20, 2011 BRITAIN’S manufacturing boom looks set to continue – although rising factory gate prices are threatening to stoke inflation even higher, a survey revealed yesterday. Manufacturing output prices rose at the fastest pace since October 2008 in the final months of last year, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry. And in the [...]
BP MAKES HEALTH AND SAFETY TOP PRIORITY January 20, 2011 GIVEN BP’s recent misadventures in the Gulf of Mexico – and the subsequent $20bn (£12.6bn) it has sunk into a compensation fund – The Capitalist is relieved to note that safety is top of the agenda for visitors to BP’s offices. Indeed, some may argue that BP has gone rather overboard with its ‘elf ‘n’ [...]
Scrap stamp duty, says OECD January 20, 2011 STAMP duty should be scrapped to encourage labour mobility, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said yesterday. And massive house price hikes in recent decades were partly driven by restrictions on the supply of new housing, its report said. The Paris-based group suggested replacing stamp duty with an ongoing land tax based on [...]
UK born people take more benefits than immigrants January 20, 2011 FOREIGN born people are less likely to claim state benefits than their UK born counterparts in nearly all British regions and countries, official data showed yesterday. And in some regions almost half the UK born population are claiming benefits or tax credits, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed. Where foreign born people receive more, [...]
Consumer confidence downturn carries into 2011, as fear over inflation spreads January 20, 2011 CONSUMER confidence has slipped further in the Eurozone, it was revealed yesterday, as inflation continues to squeeze spending and concern policymakers. The European Commission’s initial “flash” estimate of consumer morale for this month dropped to an index rating of -11.4, from -11 in December. Confidence on the high streets of the single currency area had [...]
ARE YOU CONFIDENT ABOUT ECONOMIC RECOVERY? January 20, 2011 ROWAN BAMFORD | SNR DENTON “I’m more optimistic now than say six months ago. I work as an M&A lawyer and there have been more transactions going through. Confidence seems to be returning. I think people had grown tired of not doing any trades.” HUGH COLLINS| BLP “I’m broadly optimistic about recovery but we’ve not [...]
Saving up your coppers in the vault January 20, 2011 IN JOSEPH HELLER’S modern classic, Catch 22, the entrepreneurial mess officer Milo Minderbinder seizes the opportunity to buy up the entire Egyptian cotton crop. The result is a disaster – Milo finds himself unable to sell the cotton to anyone. After trying to turn it into food, eventually he unloads it onto the government. Today [...]
