German business climate improves for fourth month in a row August 27, 2013 The German IFO current assessment index rose from 110.1 to 112 in August, beating expectations of a rise to 111.0. Business climate (BCI) saw a jump from 106.2 to 107.5 (107.0 expected) and expectations increase from 102.4 to 103.3 (103.0 expected). Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist, Capital Economics: The rise was due to improvements in [...]
Bunzl expects strong growth on acquisition pipeline August 27, 2013 Distribution firm Bunzl has seen pre tax profits at £129.4m in the six months to the end of June, up from £118.5m in the same period last year (release). Group revenue rose to £2,956.6 million (2012: £2,612.2 million), an increase of 11% at constant exchange rates, which was driven by underlying growth of 1.9% together [...]
Before the open – 27/08 August 27, 2013 Markets are expected lower on Syrian turmoil and poor US data yesterday. US Secretary of State John Kerry described events in Syria as "a moral obscenity" and said that "by any standard, it is inexcusable and — despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured — it is undeniable." The US saw durable goods [...]
Britons hit by £2bn tax bill for holiday season August 27, 2013 Taking a break has cost British holiday goers £2bn in tax last year, according to research by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). That's a £500m increase on the same estimate in 2008. The TPA's research found that a family of six travelling to Spain would see an average tax bill of £187, while a trip to [...]
Antofagasta sees profits fall by over 37 per cent as commodities slump August 27, 2013 Miner Antofagasta has announced pre tax profits of just $981.0m (£629.9m) in the six months ended June, a 37.3 per cent decline on the same period last year (release). While copper and gold production were both up, at 8.4 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively, revenues fell by a hefty 12.1 per cent as [...]
Exclusive: Labour threatens to redesign HS2 link August 27, 2013 LABOUR would delay construction of the London leg of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway in order to redesign the route through the capital, shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has told City A.M. Eagle said the government’s current proposal to link HS2 to the High Speed 1 (HS1) line using existing tracks through north London [...]
Labour threatens to redesign HS2 link August 26, 2013 LABOUR would delay construction of the London leg of the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway in order to redesign the route through the capital, shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has told City A.M. Eagle said the government’s current proposal to link HS2 to the High Speed 1 (HS1) line using existing tracks through north London [...]
Greek minister pushes €10bn bailout with no conditions August 26, 2013 YANNIS Stournaras, Greece’s finance minister, has suggested a €10bn (£8.6bn) price tag for the country’s third bailout, rebuffing further austerity measures. Stournaras spoke to Greek newspaper Proto Thema at the weekend, saying: “We are not talking about a new bailout but a support package without new terms. Until 2016 the targets – our obligations – [...]
Cameron cuts holiday and may recall MPs over Syria August 26, 2013 PRIME Minister David Cameron has cut short his holiday to chair a meeting of the UK’s National Security Committee on how to respond to an alleged chemical attack in Syria. He is also set to make a decision today on whether to call back other MPs early to discuss the atrocity. A Downing Street spokesman [...]
Ocado and Sports Direct: better to arrive late than not at all August 26, 2013 Whenever bankers are asked to explain why London’s market for new issues – the IPO market – nearly collapsed altogether last year, they cite a number of factors that always include the poor performance of a number of high-profile flotations. The lists are long and varied but almost everybody’s bete noirs include Sports Direct, Mike [...]
