WHEAT PRICES SURGE August 2, 2010 WHEAT prices hit a two-year high yesterday of $7.11 (£4.47) a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade as worsening weather continues to ravage Russia’s grain crops and heavy rains in Pakistan are estimated to have destroyed 15 per cent of that country’s crop. Wheat prices soared 42 per cent in July, the biggest monthly [...]
UK output still growing but pace cools off August 2, 2010 MANUFACTURING output continued to grow in the UK, US and the Eurozone last month, even as China saw its first contraction in 16 months following a clampdown by the government on property speculation and tighter credit controls. A slowdown in export orders pulled the CIPS/Markit UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) down by 30 basis [...]
HgCapital to buy TeamSystem August 2, 2010 HgCapital is set to buy Italian accounting software firm TeamSystem after beating rival buyout firm Cinven in the final stages of the auction. Seller Bain Capital could get as much as €600m (£495m). Bain received bids from both firms by Friday’s deadline as listed British software provider Sage unexpectedly withdrew from the process. A sale [...]
Fidessa beats forecasts August 2, 2010 Trading software firm Fidessa beat profit forecasts in the first half, helped by more stable financial markets. The company, whose trading systems are used by brokers and banks, posted 23 per cent higher adjusted pre-tax profit of £19.5m on sales of £128.5m, up 11 per cent on the first six months of 2009. It said [...]
Elementis back in its element August 2, 2010 Chemicals maker Elementis topped analysts’ forecasts on its first-half pre-tax profit, aided by increased demand in all its key markets. It hit a profit of $46.2m (£29.1m), up from $3.2m in 2009, with a 41 per cent increase in revenue to $358m. Chief executive David Dutro said: “These results, combined with our strength in emerging [...]
BERNANKE SAYS POLICY WILL STAY LOOSE August 2, 2010 THE US economy is improving but has yet to recover fully, with high unemployment and a weak housing market leaving consumers unsettled, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. This means US monetary policy must remain “accommodative” until the economic recovery is on a sustainable path and job creation picks up, he said. There is “a [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 2, 2010 FTSE Group The global index provider has appointed Sudir Raju as managing director for its custom index business. Raju has worked for Dow Jones and Stoxx Indexes since 2004, latterly as leader of the Stoxx custom index business. He has a strong technical background with experience extending across index design, production, reviews and operations, as [...]
City punters fuel a profit rise at Arena August 2, 2010 CITY workers and corporate sponsorship deals have helped to fuel a 30 per cent rise in profit at racecourse operator Arena Leisure. The company has seen a tide of punters returning to its courses, including Windsor and Lingfield Park. Monday night horseracing at Windsor was a fixture of the City social life before the recession [...]
Hammerson hopes for malls boost August 2, 2010 PROPERTY investor Hammerson is betting on its landmark shopping malls to underpin its rising portfolio value and income levels, as fears of a relapse in global property prices stalk the market. The Anglo-French retail property specialist, which owns or co-owns some of Europe’s most popular shopping centres like Birmingham’s Bullring and Italie 2 near Paris, [...]
Vue sees record numbers pack cinemas for latest blockbusters August 2, 2010 VUE cinemas saw a record number of filmgoers through its doors last week. More than 1.3m people flocked to see summer blockbusters like Toy Story 3, Inception and Twilight: Eclipse. The week was the highest grossing on record for the group, with revenue of more than £40m. Vue’s flagship Westfield Shopping Centre cinema in London [...]
