Revenue jumps at Intertek November 19, 2012 Testing company Intertek yesterday posted a 20.1 per cent jump in revenue for the July to November quarter, buoyed by strong growth from the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Europe still proved a hard market, with growth “below the group average”, it said. The adjusted operating profit margin for the group, which acquired NDT [...]
Who’s switching jobs November 19, 2012 Smith & Nephew Julie Brown has been appointed chief financial officer at the medical technology business. She joins from AstraZeneca, where she was vice president for group finance and interim chief financial officer. Brown was at AstraZeneca for 25 years, and previously qualified as a chartered accountant at KPMG. Natixis Global Asset Management The asset [...]
Best of the Brokers November 19, 2012 AVEVA Panmure has cut its target price on the software group to 1838p from 1948p and kept its “hold” rating, after last week’s interim results caused the broker to trim its expectations slightly. BLINKX After last week’s strong interim results from the video streaming firm, Canaccord Genuity has a “buy” rating and target price of [...]
UK shares have year’s biggest one day rise on hopes of US fiscal plan November 19, 2012 UK shares matched their biggest one day rise of the year yesterday, recovering some of last week’s steep falls, as optimism that US lawmakers will forge a fiscal compromise encouraged traders to buy at the lower prices. The FTSE 100 index was up 132.07 points, or 2.4 per cent, at 5,767.66 by the close. Leading [...]
Wall St up on housing and high earnings November 19, 2012 US stocks bounced higher for a second consecutive session yesterday as investors were encouraged by the early atmosphere surrounding talks to tackle the nation’s fiscal crunch. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 207.65 points, or 1.65 per cent, at 12,795.96. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 27.01 points, or 1.99 per cent, at [...]
Investors should expect a perfect storm of global political instability November 19, 2012 VIOLENCE in Israel and Gaza may seem to be a solely political (or geopolitical) issue. But politics has implications for all investments, and particularly sovereign debt. Governments drive policy and policy drives the bond markets. Instability used to be more of an issue for emerging markets. But we are now entering a new age of [...]
The poor are growing richer – and it’s nothing to do with redistribution November 19, 2012 IT’S fashionable to suggest that economic reform under Margaret Thatcher exposed us to a form of capitalism where “the rich have got richer and the poor have got poorer”. We’re told this has led to increasing inequality, which has damaged our economic and social fabric and that only redistributive policies – in the form of [...]
How shareholders shaped the Xstrata Glencore merger November 19, 2012 SHAREHOLDERS in Xstrata, the mining company, vote today on whether to approve its mega-merger with Glencore, the commodities group. If passed, the deal will create a £50bn mining and global commodities marketing giant. But reaching this point hasn’t been easy. At nearly every step of over ten months of negotiations, shareholders have successfully made their [...]
As the conflict in Israel and Gaza continues, can the situation be effectively contained? November 19, 2012 YES Adam Hug This crisis can be contained but it will take more than pressuring Hamas to come to ceasefire, or pressing Israel for restraint and an end to its current rules of engagement. The international community must set out a plan to securely relieve the blockade of Gaza, allowing consistent movement across the Rafah [...]
Rapid responses November 19, 2012 Easing the burden [Re: We must ditch unfair loopholes – and then cut tax overall, yesterday] You have to ask what purpose corporation tax serves. Companies are mere constructs for the purposes of providing services to the market. By taxing them, the government is penalising a justifiable and desirable activity. In the end, the consumer [...]
