Whitbread in sales lift as Costa grows June 21, 2011 STRONG turnover and new stores at Costa Coffee have helped Whitbread raise its sales by 9.2 per cent. Total sales at its coffee chain in the last three months were 22.5 per cent up on a year ago. Costa was boosted by the opening of 73 new branches during the period, as well as new [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS WHITBREAD ON A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH TRAIL? June 21, 2011 NIGEL PARSON | EVOLUTION SECURITIES We are trimming our forecasts to reflect a more cautious view of the UK economy ex-London but the stock remains good value. Whitbread’s strong value proposition remains relevant and the increasing roll-out will compensate for more muted like for like sales. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Total sales showed an [...]
Planned cuts to deficit yet to be realised June 21, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s deficit reduction plan is already running off track, some economic analysts said yesterday. Government borrowing measured £17.4bn in May, down from the £18.5bn borrowed in May 2010 — yet in the fiscal year to date (April and May), borrowing was £1.5bn higher than at the same time last year. Central government spending [...]
UK factories set to hike prices June 21, 2011 CONSUMERS can expect price hikes from UK factory products in the coming months, as manufacturers look to pass on steep and rising costs. Yet despite inflationary products and weak domestic demand, the industry is upbeat about its current situation, a survey from the Confederation for British Industry (CBI) revealed yesterday. Nearly a third (31 per [...]
Big Chinese lenders see stocks drop on fears of capital requirement tightening June 21, 2011 SHARES of major Chinese lenders China Construction Bank (CCB) and Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) fell to multi-month lows yesterday, hit by potentially souring loans, an economic slowdown and tighter capital requirements. CCB printed a nine-month low of HK$6.43 (£0.50) in early trading, down 2.7 per cent. AgBank was down 3.8 per cent to a [...]
Emerging economy boom at risk from high oil values June 21, 2011 HIGH crude prices may derail growth in China and India, the two nations that have helped the global economy overcome the financial crisis, the International Energy Agency has said. Prices for Brent crude have peaked at just above $127 (£78) a barrel so far this year although it fell to around $111 yesterday as uncertainties [...]
Deflation could still hit the UK, insists defiant Bank of England official Fisher June 21, 2011 THE UK could still face a deflationary threat despite stubbornly high inflation, Bank of England rate-setter Paul Fisher claimed yesterday. “The economy could be much weaker than we expect, pushing down on inflation and risking deflation,” Fisher told a gathering in London yesterday. “Recovering to the target from that could be even harder,” he said. [...]
GOVERNMENT’S FISCAL WATCHDOG ANNOUNCES NEW OFFICIALS June 21, 2011 FORMER Bank of England interest rate-setter Kate Barker and ex-Treasury official Terry Burns were yesterday announced as the latest recruits to the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility. Meanwhile, Michael Cohrs — a member of the Bank’s interim Financial Policy Committee — has been appointed to the Bank’s Court of Directors.
German morale plummets in June June 21, 2011 A majority of German investors now expect its economy to slow over the next six months, with the Eurozone’s debt crisis is weighing heavily on sentiment. The Mannheim-based ZEW economic think tank’s headline sentiment index hit its lowest since January 2009 in June, falling into negative territory for the first time since last October at [...]
American housing market slumps June 21, 2011 Sales of previously owned US homes fell to a six-month low in May and prices dropped 4.6 per cent from a year ago, pointing to a housing market still struggling to regain its footing. The National Association of Realtors said yesterday that sales slipped 3.8 per cent month-on-month to an annual rate of 4.81m units, [...]
