Game bullish for full-year despite fresh competition January 13, 2011 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group posted 2.1 per cent lower like-for-like sales over Christmas and said annual profit would be within analysts expectations despite increasing competition from downloads. The company has been hit by an absence of new console launches in 2010, increased competition from supermarkets and changing gaming habits, with people increasingly playing mobile [...]
Rates held in spite of price inflation fears January 13, 2011 INTEREST rates were held for the UK and the Eurozone yesterday, despite rising inflation in both areas. Historically low rates were maintained by the Bank of England (0.5 per cent) and the European Central Bank (ECB), which kept Euro area rates at one per cent. Inflation in the UK rose to 3.3 per cent in [...]
UK industrial production rising January 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S ongoing manufacturing resurgence was confirmed by government figures, yesterday. Output increased across nearly all manufacturing sectors in November, rising by 0.6 per cent on the previous month, and by 5.6 per cent compared to the same time in 2009. The industry has grown for 13 consecutive months, according to the underlying trend of three [...]
Wave of age discrimination cases looms after default retirement age is scrapped by Davey January 13, 2011 EMPLOYMENT minister Ed Davey faced a barrage of criticism from business groups yesterday, as he announced that bosses will no longer be able to force staff to retire at 65. Employers face a “seismic shift” in the law that could see unfair dismissal claims “go through the roof,” according to a leading City law firm. [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT INFLATION? January 13, 2011 HANS ULRICH KAESER | DEUTSCHE BANK “I am quite worried about inflation. Keeping the interest rate low might just fuel it in the future. Interest rates are a matter of strategy though, even if it does mean prices go up.” NICK LYES | NATIONAL HOUSE BUILDING COUNCIL “I am worried about prices going up, both [...]
Tesco trading update sends investors running for cover January 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell yesterday as a disappointing trading update from Tesco upset food retailers and tobacco stocks were hit by a broker’s downgrade. At the close, the FTSE 100 was down 26.84 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 6,023.88, after hitting a 31-month closing peak on Wednesday. Tesco was the biggest FTSE 100 [...]
Commodities drag on sluggish Wall St January 13, 2011 US stocks edged lower yesterday, hurt by a slide in drugmaker Merck and as falling commodities prices hit shares of natural resource companies. The S&P 500, however, held near 28-month highs as investors saw stocks’ upward trend continuing, focusing on expectations for strong earnings. Intel confirmed those bets as it posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings and [...]
US trade deficit in surprise fall January 13, 2011 America’s trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to $38.3bn (£24.2bn) in November, its lowest level since last January, it was revealed yesterday. Economists had expected a widening in the deficit. However, the politically sensitive deficit with China widened by half a per cent. Meanwhile, the US producer price index (PPI) rose above expectations. The inflation measure hit [...]
Tough year ahead, warns CEBR January 13, 2011 The UK economy grew by 1.8 per cent last year, yet growth will slow to 1.1 per cent this year, according to a forecast released today by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR). The CEBR revised down its predictions for 2011, which will be “the toughest year of the economic cycle,” it said. [...]
French price pressures increase January 13, 2011 Inflation in France increased by half a per cent in December, compared to the previous month – above the expectations of economists. The rise took the annual rate to two per cent, provoking concerns over today’s Eurozone inflation figures. Yet French economy minister Christine Lagarde said: “I am not very worried,” despite some core elements of [...]
