UK has widest productivity gap since 1993 February 13, 2013 UK OUTPUT per hour in 2011 was further below the average of major economies than at any time since 1993, according to figures released yesterday. British output per worker trailed the G7 average by 21 per cent in 2011, the most recent year for which there is data, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) numbers [...]
Lift in US manufacturing and retail sales boost the economy February 13, 2013 US RETAIL sales continued their steady climb in the first month of 2013, according to data out yesterday. Like-for-like retail and food services sales climbed 0.1 per cent between December and January to cap off a 4.4 per cent improvement over the year, the US Census Bureau said. Looking at the three months ending with January [...]
Experts predict global growth is set to return in six months February 13, 2013 GLOBAL growth will return with a bang over the next six months, driven by emerging markets, according to a poll of experts out yesterday. The Ifo expectations index soared from 87.7 in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 107 in the first quarter of 2013, the highest result for seven quarters, and back to a [...]
Peugeot rules out asset sales as losses grow February 13, 2013 PSA Peugeot Citroen vowed to avoid further asset sales or government bailouts, insisting that cuts underway will be enough for it to recover from its biggest-ever full-year loss. Peugeot shares rose yesterday after the troubled carmaker said it burned through cash at the expected rate in 2012 and stuck by a pledge to halve that [...]
Heineken sees growth regions offsetting weakness in Europe February 13, 2013 HEINEKEN, the world’s third-largest brewer, beat expectations for 2012 profit yesterday and said Africa, Asia and the Americas should drive continued volume and revenue growth, offsetting weak European markets. The brewer also said that savings should outweigh rising costs. The brewer of Heineken – Europe’s best-selling lager, and Sol, Strongbow and Tiger, said input prices, [...]
Town Centre Securities’ profit falls February 13, 2013 Leeds-based property investment and development firm Town Centre Securities yesterday said first half pre-tax profits were five per cent down on 2011 at £3.8m for the period to 31 December 2012. Its net asset value (Nav) per share also slipped to 263p, from 284p in 2011. Chairman and chief executive Edward Ziff blamed higher borrowing [...]
Oxford Instruments is on track February 13, 2013 High-tech manufacturer Oxford Instruments said yesterday that trading was on track for the full year. The firm said that the trends it reported for the first half of the year had continued into the second half. It said its nanotechnology tools sector continued to grow but its industrial products sector remained soft. “The board anticipates [...]
International boosts Speedy Hire February 13, 2013 Equipment rental hire firm Speedy Hire said yesterday trading was on track for the full year after its international business grew revenues 37 per cent year-on-year for the third quarter. In the UK, revenues were up two per cent year-on-year for the same period from 1 October last year to 12 February. “Importantly both margins [...]
Best of the Brokers February 13, 2013 PETROFAC UBS yesterday upgraded oilfield services group Petrofac from “neutral” to “buy”, with the target price increased from 1,575p to 1,875p. “We think Petrofac has a solid business model within the onshore engineering & construction end market,” the note said. UBS recommends “deploying cash organically” within other parts of the business in order to avoid [...]
Late rally sees FTSE 100 hit a five-year high February 13, 2013 THE FTSE 100 staged a late rally yesterday when shorts got squeezed by the continued resilience of the market on the back of rising investor confidence. Britain’s top share index closed up 20.73 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,359.11, and touched an intraday high of 6,384.70 – its highest in five years. The index, [...]
