Olympus puts accounting fraud behind it by swinging into black November 12, 2012 TROUBLED Japanese electronics firm Olympus swung to its first profit since 2010 yesterday as it put a £1.1bn accounting scandal behind it. The company, which makes optical medical equipment as well as digital cameras, reported an ¥18bn (£143m) pre-tax profit in the six months to October, compared to a ¥6.6bn loss in the same period [...]
Profits at Emirates soar November 12, 2012 Dubai-based airline Emirates has defied the gloom weighing down the aviation industry by more than doubling its profits to 1.7bn dirhams (£291m) for the six months to the end of September. The state-owned firm carried 18.7m passengers in the period, up 15.4 per cent from a year ago. Revenue rose 17 per cent on the [...]
City sleepover in Broadgate November 12, 2012 CITY workers swapped their sheets for the street last week to help raise £250,000 for homeless charity Centrepoint. The Capitalist chatted to Gordon Taylor, managing director of markets at RBS, and Jon Millward, partner at Drivers Jonas Deloitte, before they bedded down for the night. When asked what provisions he had brought along, Taylor said: [...]
Kigu is crowned smartest small business at Smarta 100 Awards November 12, 2012 KIGU, a company that makes animal onesies favoured by everyone from the cast of Made in Chelsea to Lily Allen, has been voted Britain’s brightest small business by business network Smarta. Kigu founder Tom Cohn was awarded a novelty cheque for the very real £10,000 cash prize at the awards, run with O2. BBC Dragon [...]
Shops tell Osborne to lift sector by going easy on new tax hikes November 12, 2012 RETAILERS yesterday sent a list of demands to George Osborne ahead of the chancellor’s Autumn Statement next month, calling for measures to save the struggling sector. Osborne should freeze business rates, scrap the delayed plans to increase fuel duty, and ensure that the minimum wage does not rise at a rate that “does not exceed [...]
Japan edges towards recession November 12, 2012 JAPAN’S economy shrank in the September quarter for the first time since last year, data released yesterday showed, adding to signs that slowing global growth and tensions with China are nudging the world’s third-largest economy into recession. The 0.9 per cent fall in GDP was in line with expectations, although a fall in capital expenditure [...]
Emerging economies set to boost UK firms’ exports November 12, 2012 BRITISH businesses will gain a boost from increasing export opportunities in emerging economies, the latest HSBC trade forecast said yesterday. Exports to eastern Europe, the Middle East and north Africa are expected to rise over the next three years, while demand from China’s middle classes will also prove to be a boon for the UK’s [...]
EU urged to drop barriers to trade with poorer countries November 12, 2012 A WESTMINSTER think tank will today call on Brussels to help development in poorer countries by scrapping non-tariff barriers to trade. The Institute for Economic Affairs, which argues in favour of free trade, will also urge governments in developing countries to boost growth by slashing measures that stifle international trade. “There is an urgent requirement [...]
Open borders to help solve skills shortage November 12, 2012 INFLEXIBLE labour markets mean that many countries suffer from a combination of high unemployment and considerable skills shortages, the recruitment firm Hays has said. Governments could help solve the “paradox” by reforming restrictions on immigration, Hays said while launching its latest global skills index yesterday. “Governments should focus on the skills their economies lack and [...]
India’s economic woes worsen November 12, 2012 India’s economic gloom deepened yesterday with a surprise contraction in industrial production, a fall in exports and higher retail inflation. Industrial production shrank an annual 0.4 per cent in September, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Exports fell an annual 1.6 per cent to $23.2bn (£14.6bn) in October, while the consumer price index rose [...]
