Optimistic firms plan for growth January 3, 2011 UK financial officers have turned markedly more optimistic about growth in 2011, fuelling hopes that the private sector will be able to compensate for a retrenching public sector. Deloitte’s quarterly CFO Survey – released today – cites expansion as the top priority for financial officers, with balance sheet rebuilding and cost-cutting taking a back seat. Risk [...]
Rothschild in coal search January 3, 2011 VALLAR, the London-listed cash shell founded by financier Nat Rothschild, is looking at potential opportunities to bulk up its coal assets as it seeks to become a major force on the FTSE 100. Rothschild was unable to comment to CityA.M. last night but sources close to the group said that it would not dismiss suggestions [...]
Why 2011 won’t be too bad after all January 3, 2011 FORECASTING may be a mug’s game but it is unavoidable at this time of the year. So here are a few of my predictions for 2011, together with some key themes to look out for and some lessons from last year. I was right to be sanguine about 2010’s UK growth prospects; the daily warnings [...]
Buffett’s bonds for sale January 3, 2011 BILLIONAIRE investor Warren Buffett bolted in to 2011, with the first major offering for the year coming from his investment holding company. Berkshire Hathaway yesterday offered $1.5bn of three-year and 10-year senior unsecured notes. Buffett, a giant in the investment world who is known as “The Sage Of Omaha”, will guarantee the debt via Berkshire [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA TRAVEL GROUP PULLS OUT OF AIM Et-China.com International Holdings, the Chinese travel specialist, will today become the first company to quit Aim this year. Shares in the company, which raised £4.4m at 127p a share when it joined Aim in August 2007, were suspended at 103 1/2p in July because of its [...]
Borders loses two top execs January 3, 2011 Bookseller Borders yesterday announced the resignation of two top executives, as the retailer battles its economic woes. Borders revealed late yesterday that general counsel Thomas Carney and chief information officer D. Scott Laverty had resigned. The bookseller’s shares dipped by 13 per cent on Friday, and dropped by 11 per cent to 85 cents in [...]
News Corp mulls MySpace deal January 3, 2011 News Corporation, the media giant that owns a host of UK newspapers and a majority shareholding in BSkyB, is still considering a sale of its social networking site MySpace, it emerged over the weekend. CNBC business television reported yesterday that News Corp is on course to sell MySpace by mid-2011, citing sources. The Los Angeles-based [...]
Coalition’s VAT hike slammed by all sides January 3, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne was caught in the political crossfire as the UK braced itself for today’s rise in VAT to 20 per cent. The tax hike will cost families £400 a year and risk up to 250,000 jobs, Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed while on the by-election campaign trail in Oldham yesterday. Osborne accused the [...]
US markets cheer in the new year January 3, 2011 US MARKETS reached two-year highs yesterday, buoyed by a strong performance from the manufacturing sector. The S&P 500 closed up 1.13 per cent at 1271.87, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.8 per cent at 11670.75. The Nasdaq Composite added 1.46 per cent to 2691.52. Apple was one of the biggest winners, as [...]
Manufacturing rise sends euro stocks upward January 3, 2011 SURPRISINGLY strong manufacturing growth across the Eurozone saw stock markets start the year on the up. The opening hours of yesterday’s trading saw rises in the Euro Stoxx 50 (1.9 per cent), Germany’s DAX (1.5 per cent) and France’s CAC-40 (2.2 per cent), after it was revealed that manufacturing activity hit its highest level since [...]
