US loses status as the world’s most competitive economy September 8, 2009 TAX haven Switzerland has knocked the US off its position as the world’s most competitive economy, after the financial crisis exposed longstanding weaknesses in the giant economy. The UK, the world’s sixth-largest economy by gross domestic product, has slipped one place and now ranks a dismal 13th, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest [...]
Profits spike at Kingfisher September 8, 2009 KINGFISHER, Europe’s largest home improvement retail group, yesterday rushed out first-half profit figures following an administrative error, though the better-than-expected results cheered investors and sent its shares to a two-year high. The group, which owns B&Q in Britain and Castorama in France, said it expects to report an underlying pre-tax profit of between £285m and [...]
HOW ENCOURAGING ARE THE EARLY PROFIT FIGURES FROM KINGFISHER? September 8, 2009 NICK BUBB PALI INTERNATIONAL “Next year may well be a big disappointment to fans of the ‘V-shaped’ recovery in the UK, but Kingfisher has a proven track record, balance sheet and self-help programme. We think it’s safe to push up our target price from 250p to 270p, given further upgrade potential on B&Q.” MATTHEW MCEACHRAN [...]
Price of gold hits $1,000 on uncertainty September 8, 2009 THE PRICE of gold powered through the psychologically-important $1,000 (£606) per ounce barrier yesterday, as the dollar’s weakness, concerns about economic recovery and fear of inflation underpinned sentiment. Spot gold rose to $1,007.45 an ounce in early trading, its highest since March 2008, when bullion touched a record high at $1,030.80. Meanwhile US gold futures [...]
PR PRO FULD CORNERED AT COUNTRY RETREAT September 8, 2009 SOMEONE has finally cornered former Lehman Brothers chief Dick Fuld, the “gorilla” of Wall Street, at his idyllic country pad in Idaho, just a week before the anniversary of the firm’s collapse. “You don’t have a gun; that’s good,” was Fuld’s opening shot to the Reuters reporter, before adding: “I’ve been pummelled, I’ve been dumped [...]
FA and Carlsberg extend deal September 8, 2009 The Football Association and beer brand Carlsberg yesterday announced they have agreed a further four year sponsorship deal. By the end of the new agreement, the sponsorship will have run for 19 years, one of sport’s longest-running commercial relationships. The new deal starts from August 2010.
Skywest suffers slide in traffic September 8, 2009 Australian carrier Skywest said yesterday that passenger numbers and traffic had fallen, but that charter flights and load factor were up in August. Passenger numbers and traffic fell 11.8 per cent and 14.8 per cent year-on-year respectively during the month. But charter services rose 23.45 per cent and load factor improved by to 57.36 per [...]
Emerging car markets near in size to US September 8, 2009 PASSENGER car sales in China during August rose 90 per cent year-on-year, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said yesterday, as the emerging market comes ever-closer to topping the US as the world’s biggest car market. Car sales, including sport-utility and multi-purpose vehicles, hit 858,300, compared with 451,300 units sold a year earlier and [...]
BAE fights for army contract September 8, 2009 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems is fighting a decision by the US Army to award a multi-billion dollar vehicle contract to a competitor, saying it did not judge its proposals fairly. The company said that it had filed a protest with the US Government Accountability Office, asking it to review the decision. BAE’s shares fell around [...]
SAIC eyes up a stake in Saab September 8, 2009 China’s largest carmaker SAIC Motor group may take a stake in Saab Automobile by teaming with luxury sportscar maker Koenigsegg, it emerged yesterday. SAIC, which is partnered with a General Motors (GM) in China, is interested in buying into the US carmaker’s Swedish unit, but its ill-fated investment in South Korea’s loss-making Ssangyong Motor weighs [...]
