New claims for US jobless benefits hit a three-month low as economy picks up October 7, 2010 New US claims for jobless benefits hit a near three-month low last week, suggesting some let up in the labour market’s distress but likely not enough to keep the Federal Reserve from easing monetary policy further. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to 445,000, the lowest since 10 July, the Labour Department said [...]
ECB warns of disruptive forex moves as rates held October 7, 2010 Sudden swings in foreign exchange rates pose a threat to economic growth, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday after the ECB kept rates on hold at one per cent. In his strongest comments on currency volatility in almost a year, Trichet said exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals, a pointed reference to countries [...]
CITY VIEWS: WAS THE BANK OF ENGLAND RIGHT TO KEEP INTEREST RATES ON HOLD? October 7, 2010 ALEX WINSTANLEY | AVIVA “I am happy the Bank is keeping interest rates at the current level. We’re in a challenging period at the moment. I am confident with what the government is doing but we need to take stock and possibly look at what Europe is doing.” LAWRENCE CHIR | BLACKROCK “At the moment [...]
Samsung hit by downturn in TV sales October 7, 2010 Samsung yesterday ended a record run of quarterly performances as a negative earnings guidance caused the firm’s stock to lurch. The world’s largest memory chipmaker, which has a tradition of beating even the most bullish estimates, faces a tough outlook as a fragile world economy has hit demand for TVs and computers. It now expects [...]
Renault sells €3bn Volvo stake October 7, 2010 RENAULT is to cut debt after a €3bn (£2.6bn) sale of shares in world number two truckmaker Volvo, which sent the French carmaker’s shares to a nine-month high yesterday. Volvo said there would be little change in direction because Renault would remain the most influential voting shareholder. Renault sold B-class shares, which have less voting [...]
Toyota set to unveil two new Prius models by 2012 October 7, 2010 TOYOTA plans to sell two new versions of its Prius hybrid in the US by the end of 2012, unveiling both an expanded and a more compact version yesterday. The expanded version will have 50 per cent more interior space than the current model, while the compact will be about the same size as Japanese [...]
Demand for winter gas set to surge as National Grid prepares for cold weather October 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S winter gas demand is expected to rise by 3.8 per cent compared with last winter as more gas is forecast to be used for power generation, National Grid said yesterday. In the power sector, peak demand levels are expected to be slightly lower than last year’s at 57.7 gigawatts (GW), while available power generation [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 7, 2010 Jefferies The investment bank has hired Simon Hampton from Bank of America Merrill Lynch as its new European head of real estate, gaming and lodging investment banking. Hampton spent over 13 years at BoA Merrill Lynch, including eight as head of the real estate, gaming and lodging investment banking group for the EMEA region. Prior [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 7, 2010 J SAINSBURY Sales growth at J Sainsbury was still faster than peers and, according to HSBC the second quarter confirmed Sainsbury’s is growing faster than the industry but margin enhancement looks fairly limited for the full year. The broker believes valuation is currently stretched relative to the sector and reiterates its “neutral” rating. IMPERIAL TOBACCO [...]
The age of flexible pensions October 7, 2010 AS UNIONS reacted furiously to the publication of Lord Hutton’s public sector pensions review yesterday, Britain’s working population has a trickier issue to resolve than raising “French-style riots”: what to save and how. Despite de-leveraging significantly over the last year, Brits are still not saving enough. And on top of the pensions deficit, it is [...]
