Finsbury Foods earnings climb despite downturn September 26, 2011 FINSBURY Foods, the UK’s second largest supermarket cake supplier, said yesterday it saw an increase in profits despite the economic downturn. The group, which makes cakes for Weightwatchers, Thorntons and Disney, said its underlying profits rose by 8.3 per cent to £5m for the year to 2 July, after sales rose by 12.6 per cent [...]
German firms downbeat on next half year September 26, 2011 BUSINESS confidence in Germany for the coming six months has sunk to its lowest level since June 2009, a leading survey revealed yesterday. The Ifo business climate’s expectations sub-index fell for the seventh straight month, measuring 98 points for September — down from 100 last month. Yet the headline Ifo index — which also includes [...]
Broadbent hints at fresh QE September 26, 2011 THE PROSPECT of a second phase of quantitative easing was heightened yesterday by a dovish speech by senior Bank of England official Ben Broadbent (pictured right). The pound edged lower after Broadbent provided a downbeat outlook for the economy, stating: “Most importantly for policy today, the international environment is clearly disinflationary.” But sterling later recovered [...]
US home sales fall to a six month low as activity dips September 26, 2011 NEW HOME sales fell to a six-month low in the US last month, according to figures released yesterday by the Commerce Department. The number of sales fell 2.3 per cent, from a seasonally adjusted 302,000 in July to 295,000 in August. That is the fourth consecutive monthly drop, leaving sales 6.6 per cent below April’s [...]
Cut red tape says business body September 26, 2011 UK firms are constrained by red tape and held back from investing, which has a damaging effect on the economy, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) announced yesterday. The business lobbying group said the government should take five steps immediately to boost the economy. Current regulations should be slashed and no new restrictions introduced, the [...]
Italian confidence hits new lows September 26, 2011 Consumer confidence slid in September on the back of widespread pessimism focused on the economic situation, Italy’s official statistics agency Istat revealed yesterday. The indicator fell to 98.5, compared with 100.3 in August and 106.4 back in May. Sentiment with regard to the future declined from 87.5 to 87.2, whilst the “economic climate” measure fell [...]
France cuts growth forecasts September 26, 2011 Official estimates for France’s GDP growth in the three years to 2015 have been cut. The government now anticipates growth of two per cent, rather than 2.5 per year. Growth for 2011 and 2012 is expected to come in at 1.75 per cent. Analysts at Barclays Capital believe the figures still “remain on the optimistic [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS September 26, 2011 Linklaters David Cheyne will stay on at the law firm as a consultant in an active client-facing role, after his term as senior partner comes to an end on 30 September. Cheyne joined Linklaters in 1972 and became a partner in 1980. He was global head of the firm’s corporate department from 2000 to 2005, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS September 26, 2011 RECKITT BENCKISER ING rates the consumer goods group “buy” with a target price of £40.55. The broker sees Reckitt as one of its top picks in the fast moving consumer goods sector, with expected growth in developing markets set to more than make up for stagnant performance in Europe. ING also notes that the firm [...]
Banks rally on hope of action to fix the Eurozone debt crisis September 26, 2011 AFTER a tumultuous session, strong financials hauled Britain’s top shares into positive territory yesterday as investors, spurred by hopes for decisive action to deal with the Eurozone debt crisis, sought out bargains in the beaten-down sector. The UK benchmark ended up 22.56 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,089.37, having vacillated sharply between positive and [...]
