Service sector activity falls for first time in two years January 4, 2013 The UK service sector shrank for the first time in two years in December, data showed this morning. The Markit/CIPS services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.9 in December from 50.2 in November, marking its lowest reading since April 2009. The 50 level separates growth from contraction. A fall in new business was the [...]
FTSE 100 slips as miners lead index down January 4, 2013 The blue chip index was broadly flat in early deals, as it failed to replicate its landmark day of trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 edged down by around 0.15 per cent this morning. Miners led the way down as worries that the US Fed might halt its monetary easing programme and concerns over US [...]
Costain on track for year ahead January 4, 2013 Engineering solutions firm Costain said this morning it had secured £700m of work for this year, adding that its full-year results would be in line with expectations. It tops last year’s figure of £650m. Costain, which won several contracts in the second half of last year including a £288m project by Magnox to decommission the [...]
Swiss bank Wegelin to close following guilty plea January 4, 2013 Swiss private bank Wegelin & Co is to close permanently following its guilty plea to helping Americans evade taxes through secret accounts. Wegelin, the oldest Swiss private bank, will pay $57.8m (£36m) to the US authorities in penalties after it admitted to charges of conspiracy in helping wealthy Americans evade taxes on at least $1.2bn [...]
Anglo American divests stake in Amapá January 4, 2013 Anglo American said this morning it is to sell its stake in a Brazilian iron ore operation to fellow miner Zamin Ferrous. The terms of the sale – of its 70 per cent interest in the Amapá deposit – are confidential. “Anglo American has always maintained that it does not envisage holding its interest in [...]
Twitter in $11bn mega-valuation January 3, 2013 TWITTER has been valued at $11bn ahead of a potential move to take the social network public next year. The micro-blogging company, which has gone from strength to strength in recent years as questions have been raised about its major competitor Facebook, appears to be lining up for a 2014 initial public offering (IPO), according [...]
Transocean settlement set at $1.4bn January 3, 2013 DRILLING contractor Transocean yesterday agreed to pay $1.4bn (£867m) in fines to settle charges with the US government relating to the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Transocean, the Switzerland-based owner of the Deepwater Horizon vessel, will pay $1bn in civil penalties and $400m in criminal penalties over five years under the [...]
Waitrose smashes Christmas sales records January 3, 2013 WAITROSE yesterday toasted record trading in the run-up to the New Year after the grocer said aggressive promotions on products such as champagne and its Brand Price Match campaign helped to lure customers from rivals. The upmarket supermarket, which is owned by John Lewis, said like-for-like sales rose 5.4 per cent between 18 December New [...]
Regulators let Google off lightly over search fixing January 3, 2013 US regulators yesterday cleared Google of fixing internet searches to favour its own services, although the settlement came with a number of concessions from the web giant. The company was forced to change ways it produces search results and how it displays adverts, following complaints from competitors that Google had abused its position as the world’s [...]
We need an export-led revolution to save the UK economy January 3, 2013 HAPPY New Year, dear readers. Let me begin my first column of 2013 with a plea to economists, policy-makers, commentators, politicians, financiers, business folk and everyone else who wants more growth and jobs. Please, please, spend less of your time obsessing about fresh ways to subsidise mortgages, pump prime the economy with more quantitative easing [...]
