Middle-sized firms miss out June 13, 2012 THE UK’S medium-sized firms have missed out on more than 240,000 additional jobs and over £35bn of increased revenues as they are less successful than their German rivals, an industry study reports today. GE Capital found German’s Mittelstand firms expanded more rapidly than their British counterparts in the last three years, and remain far more [...]
Capital spending up in Japan June 13, 2012 Japan’s core machinery orders rose more than expected in April, official data showed yesterday, suggesting that rebuilding from last year’s earthquake will offset some of the pain from a strong yen and Europe’s debt crisis to support the fragile economy. The 5.7 per cent rise in core orders, a leading indicator of capital spending, was [...]
Car sales boom on US demand June 13, 2012 US business inventories rose in April as motor vehicle dealers restocked to meet demand, according to a government report published yesterday. The Commerce Department said inventories increased 0.4 per cent to a record $1.58 trillion (£1 trillion), after rising by an unrevised 0.3 per cent in March. The strong rise was driven by a 1.9 [...]
IMF predicts strong Russian growth June 13, 2012 Russia’s GDP will grow by four per cent this year and next year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. “High oil prices, strong wage growth, and robust consumption have supported demand,” said the report. “Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has fallen below six per cent and capacity utilisation in manufacturing has risen to its pre-crisis [...]
Carlsberg plans giant Chinese brewery build June 13, 2012 CARLSBERG is to build a giant brewery in China to tap growth in the world’s largest beer market, as the Danish group looks to expand outside sluggish European markets. The world’s fourth-biggest brewer will sign the deal on Friday to coincide with the visit to Denmark of Chinese President Hu Jintao, and spend 4bn Danish [...]
Asian electric car consortium saves Saab from bankruptcy June 13, 2012 BANKRUPT Swedish car manufacturer Saab has found a buyer, its administrators said yesterday, with a Chinese-Swedish group named as the investor. Saab, which has manufactured iconic cars such as the 900 and 9-3 since 1947, crashed into bankruptcy late in 2011, just under two years after former owner General Motors sold it to Dutch group [...]
E.ON seeking €8bn damages June 13, 2012 DAMAGES sought by E.ON from the enforced shutdown of nuclear power stations total €8bn (£6.5bn), a company spokesman said yesterday. He added the company assumed a case brought to the German constitutional court would be successful. The comments come after Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported earlier that German utilities including E.ON are seeking €15bn in damages [...]
Proximagen soars on deal June 13, 2012 US DRUGMAKER Upsher-Smith Laboratories is to buy British group Proximagen for £223m plus further payments potentially worth up to £134m based on the success of two experimental drugs. Upsher-Smith already holds 16 per cent in Proximagen, which has drugs in development for Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, cognition and neuropathic pain. Shares in Proximagen closed up 21.4 [...]
Osborne lands new job as CFO of oil company June 13, 2012 After more than 20 years of being an incredibly successful corporate broker in the City, mainly in the oil and gas space, Andrew Osborne has finally decided to take a different path. The former Bank of America Merrill Lynch adviser is joining a private equity backed oil company Chrysaor, the Capitalist understands, as its chief [...]
Lord Mayor’s daughter goes to great lengths to help appeal June 13, 2012 THERE are still a few free spaces to join 120 adventurous souls who are planning to abseil from the 289ft high Lloyd’s building next Tuesday. It’s all in aid of a good cause. David Wootton, the Lord Mayor, is appealing to a few more Londoners to join the group to support the Trauma Unit at [...]
