The new A-Class really is all class July 10, 2012 It’s fair to say the A-Class didn’t exactly set the world alight when Mercedes-Benz first launched it back in 1997. It has always seemed like the odd one out in the Mercedes-Benz line up and the poor relation to its larger siblings. Matters weren’t helped by a stuffy image and poor performance compared to its [...]
FTSE steadies after Alcoa results July 10, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat today with aluminium giant Alcoa reporting positive results to start the US earnings season which helped steady investors’ nerves. Alcoa saw its quarterly revenue and profit beat Wall Street’s expectations even though prices for its aluminium are at nearly two-year lows. Meanwhile Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to lend Spain [...]
Diamond gives up £20m bonus July 10, 2012 Former Barclays chief Bob Diamond has given up bonuses worth up to £20m as the rate rigging scandal engulfing the bank deepens. Diamond will get up to a year’s salary, pension allowance and benefits worth around £2m. According to the bank’s chairman Marcus Agius he gave up the payment voluntarily. Agius made the announcement on [...]
Manufacturing output rises in May July 10, 2012 Manufacturing output rose unexpectedly in May as an extra working day due to a postponed public holiday allowed for more work, official data showed. However, a downward revision to previous industrial output and manufacturing numbers increased the risk that the overall economy shrank again between April to June, leaving Britain in recession with a third [...]
EU sets Spanish bank aid July 10, 2012 Eurozone ministers have agreed to grant Spain an extra year until 2014 to reach its deficit reduction targets in exchange for further budget savings and set the parameters of an aid package for Madrid’s ailing banks. The decisions were aimed at preventing the currency area’s fourth largest economy, mired in a worsening recession, from needing [...]
VW sales up 13pc in June July 10, 2012 Volkswagen said sales of its flagship VW brand rose 13.7 per cent in June to 498,600 vehicles, extending the increase in year-to-date deliveries to 10.2 per cent. “The VW brand developed positively in the first half of the year despite the difficult situation in western Europe,” VW sales chief Christian Klingler said. “The considerable uncertainties [...]
Bwin hit by predictable Euro 2012 results July 10, 2012 Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the world’s largest listed online gaming group, said a run of predictable results in the Euro 2012 championship marred a solid performance in its casino and bingo operations in the second quarter. The company said its trading performance since the beginning of April was broadly in line with expectations, with solid performances [...]
Galliford buoyed by private home sales July 10, 2012 Homebuilder Galliford Try sold more homes at higher prices in its private housebuilding segment for the full year, largely benefiting from its focus on the south of England, and said the UK housing market has been stable. Completions including those from joint ventures rose 40 per cent to 3,039 units during the year. Of these, [...]
June house prices in fastest drop since October July 10, 2012 British house prices fell last month at their fastest pace since October as demand failed to pick up and the number of properties being put up for sale dropped off, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) seasonally adjusted house price balance fell to -22 from a downwardly revised -17. [...]
Asos first quarter sales rise by 31 per cent July 10, 2012 Online fashion retailer ASOS posted a 31 per cent rise in first-quarter retail sales, buoyed by a strong performance in the United States and Australia and an improving UK. The retailer, which targets young women wanting to emulate the designer outfits of celebrities, said on Tuesday retail sales rose to 137 million pounds in the [...]
