Japan’s exports plummet after its natural disasters May 25, 2011 JAPAN’S exports fell 12.5 per cent in April from a year earlier, pushing the country into its first trade deficit in three months, after the earthquake in March disrupted supply chains and hurt output. The country’s trade balance fell into a deficit of 463.7bn yen (£3.5bn). Imports rose 8.9 per cent in the year to [...]
Business sector remains on track yet consumer services face tight squeeze May 25, 2011 THE UK service sector is set for a two-speed recovery, with business services bouncing back but customer services still being squeezed. Business and professional services have reported rising activity for the last six months, according to a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey released today. Customer services, however, have been hit by five consecutive quarters [...]
German morale slides as sovereign debt fears weigh May 25, 2011 GERMAN consumer confidence slipped for the third consecutive month in May, it emerged yesterday. The highly-regarded GfK indicator fell to 5.5 from 5.7 in April. Sentiment has been hit by the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Greece, as well as high energy prices. “This shows that commodity-driven inflation is probably the main threat for the [...]
SENTANCE’S FINAL CALL AS A BANK OFFICIAL May 25, 2011 ANDREW Sentance made his final hawkish call as a member of the Bank of England yesterday, urging it to rescue its credibility by normalising interest rates. Globalisation is increasingly causing global price pressures, which national authorities will have to respond to, he said. Sentance expects “a prolonged period of upward pressure on energy and commodity [...]
Durable orders tumble in the US May 25, 2011 New orders for long-lasting US factory goods fell more than expected in April to record their largest decline in six months, as aircraft and motor vehicle orders tumbled, a government report showed yesterday. Durable goods orders dropped 3.6 per cent after an upwardly revised 4.4 per cent rise in March.
US mortgage applications rise… May 25, 2011 Mortgage applications in America rose by 1.1 per cent in the week ending 20 May, in another positive sign for ailing US housing market. On Tuesday new home sales were reported at increasing by 7.3 per cent in April.
…yet American house prices fall May 25, 2011 Prices of US homes plummeted in the first quarter of the year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said yesterday. Prices were down 2.5 per cent compared to the final three months of 2010, and 5.5 per cent lower than the same time last year. Yet the fall in March (0.3 per cent) was less severe [...]
GE Capital in £3bn sell-off May 25, 2011 GE CAPITAL is selling its A$5bn (£3.2bn) Australia and New Zealand mortgages books to Pepper Homeloans as concerns rise over a softening of the Australian housing market and the rising cost of funds. GE Capital, which shed part of its Australian home loans portfolio in 2008 when global conglomerates were restructuring their lending arms, said [...]
Total lengthens SunPower offer after regulatory delay May 25, 2011 FRENCH oil company Total has extended its offer to buy up to 60 per cent of US solar company SunPower by two weeks after consultations with European regulators led to a delay. The offer will now expire on 14 June, Total said yesterday, adding it has carried out a number of consultations with the European [...]
Watson Pharmaceuticals extends global reach with Specifar deal May 25, 2011 WATSON Pharmaceuticals yesterday acquired privately held generic drug developer Specifar Pharmaceuticals for $562m (£345.2m) in cash, expanding its global footprint. Watson said yesterday it expects the deal to immediately add to 2011 non-GAAP earnings. Specifar is a third-party product developer, with some 400 marketing authorisations licensed to third parties for sale in 36 countries, predominantly [...]
