Sizzling accessories for your beach trip May 30, 2012 Antony Peto Salvador straw hat, £143, matchesfashion.com Understated but clearly very hip, this high-quality hat looks equally perfect on an urban rooftop pool or terrace as it does in an Indian Ocean hideaway. Athena Procopiou Inez printed silk kimono, £305, netaporter.com Kaleidoscopic colours take the season’s colour trend up a notch. You’ll be sure to [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 30, 2012 ASIFMA The Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has appointed Mark Austen as its new chief executive. Austen joins from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe, where he served as head of capital markets, acting chief executive and most recently chief operating officer. Inmarsat Andy Start has been appointed president of the global [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 30, 2012 HOME RETAIL GROUP JP Morgan believes shares in the owner of Argos, Homebase and Habitat are “overweight” and has a target price of 133p. Although the first quarter has been difficult for the retailers, the upcoming bank holidays along with an accelerated store closure programme should provide some comfort to the markets. WOLSELEY UBS rates [...]
FTSE rally snapped by rising bond yields and fears over Greek election May 30, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares dropped yesterday, snapping a four-session rally, as rising bond yields for Italy and Spain and the latest poll results in Greece stoked fears about the Eurozone debt crisis, sapping investors’ risk appetite. The FTSE 100 index closed down 93.86 points, or 1.7 per cent at 5,297.28, reversing much of the rally seen [...]
US stocks drop as euro angst lifts fear gauge May 30, 2012 US stocks tumbled yesterday as surging bond yields in Spain and Italy ratcheted up tensions in financial markets about Europe’s ability to solve its growing debt crisis. Angst over Europe drove investors away from risky assets and into safe havens. US Treasury benchmark yields fell to their lowest in at least 60 years, prices for [...]
Consumers cut back on credit card borrowing May 30, 2012 BANK lending fell again in the three months to April, Bank of England figures showed yesterday, while consumers also cut back on new unsecured credit. Overall lending to non-financial corporations dropped by an annualised 4.9 per cent in the three-month period, with construction lending falling 10.1 per cent and services down by the same and [...]
ONS defends its GDP estimates against sceptical economists May 30, 2012 EARLY estimates of economic growth are very accurate, and there is no reason to delay publication of official data, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) declared yesterday, defending its record on GDP figures. The agency’s GDP figures for the first quarter of this year were widely questioned by economists and statisticians when they were first [...]
UK confidence at rock bottom May 30, 2012 FEARS that the economy is worsening has kept consumer confidence at extreme low levels, according to the Gfk confidence index published today, making consumers increasingly unlikely to commit to making major purchases. The overall confidence index improved slightly, up from minus 31 in April to minus 29 in May, but the general economic situation index [...]
US home sales in surprise drop May 30, 2012 Contracts to purchase previously owned US homes unexpectedly fell in April to their lowest level since December, industry data showed yesterday. The National Association of Realtors’ pending sales index fell 5.5 per cent in April to 95.5. Despite the housing market being the US economy’s weakest link, economists expect the sector to add value to [...]
Spencer Dale: No more QE needed May 30, 2012 More asset purchases by the Bank of England may not be warranted even if Britain’s economy continues to struggle, and the Bank should keep its focus on bringing down inflation, its chief economist said yesterday. Spencer Dale said the £325bn of quantitative easing (QE) to date had helped cushion the economy against the impact of [...]
