Bunzl expects strong growth on acquisition pipeline August 27, 2013 Distribution firm Bunzl has seen pre tax profits at £129.4m in the six months to the end of June, up from £118.5m in the same period last year (release). Group revenue rose to £2,956.6 million (2012: £2,612.2 million), an increase of 11% at constant exchange rates, which was driven by underlying growth of 1.9% together [...]
Before the open – 27/08 August 27, 2013 Markets are expected lower on Syrian turmoil and poor US data yesterday. US Secretary of State John Kerry described events in Syria as "a moral obscenity" and said that "by any standard, it is inexcusable and — despite the excuses and equivocations that some have manufactured — it is undeniable." The US saw durable goods [...]
Britons hit by £2bn tax bill for holiday season August 27, 2013 Taking a break has cost British holiday goers £2bn in tax last year, according to research by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). That's a £500m increase on the same estimate in 2008. The TPA's research found that a family of six travelling to Spain would see an average tax bill of £187, while a trip to [...]
Antofagasta sees profits fall by over 37 per cent as commodities slump August 27, 2013 Miner Antofagasta has announced pre tax profits of just $981.0m (£629.9m) in the six months ended June, a 37.3 per cent decline on the same period last year (release). While copper and gold production were both up, at 8.4 per cent and 19.7 per cent respectively, revenues fell by a hefty 12.1 per cent as [...]
Any Other Business – 27/08 August 26, 2013 Pork processor Cranswick held a lunch for private client brokers last week and The Capitalist hears that finance director Mark Bottomley was trotting out the sausage trivia in abundance. Brokers were entertained with sizzling facts from Bottomley, such as if one were to lay all the sausages which were produced by the company during the [...]
US new home sales see biggest drop since May 2010 August 23, 2013 US new home sales have seen a massive fall, dropping from 0.455m (revised from 0.497m) to 0.394m in July. Economists had forecast a fall from the unrevised figure to 0.485m. On a more-reliable 3-month average, new home sales have slipped, but haven't cratered. See the chart. pic.twitter.com/bo91LpBMtc — Rex Nutting (@RexNutting) August 23, 2013 That [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence hits July 2011 high August 23, 2013 Eurozone consumer confidence has risen from -17.4 to -15.6 in August. That's a July 2011 high. Economists had forecast an improvement to just -16.5. Christian Schulz, senior economist, Berenberg: The drop in confidence after the fateful July 2011 decision to impose losses on private holders of Greek bonds has still not fully been recovered. Confidence [...]
Steve Ballmer’s net worth up $1bn as Microsoft announces that he will retire August 23, 2013 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is to retire within the next 12 months upon completion of the process to find successor, the tech giant has announced (release). Now Bill Gates and a special committee will undertake that process to find the right guy for the job. Stock in the company has been pretty stagnant since Gates' [...]
Fed’s Bullard says no to rate hikes while inflation is below 1.5 per cent August 23, 2013 The Federal Reserve's James Bullard has said that "we don't have to be in any hurry" to make changes to policy and that he'd prefer to be "cautious" and for the central bank to "take our time". Bullard has said that a 1.5 per cent inflation floor before a rate increase would should the the [...]
Ex-Cyprus central bank chief says euro crisis will flare up after German elections August 23, 2013 Athanasios Orphanides, former chief at Cyprus' central bank, has said that the island economy was destroyed by delays in finalising the bailout package it received. Cyprus has seen its biggest industry – banking – wiped out with capital controls overstaying their welcome. While introduced as a temporary measure months ago, they have not yet been [...]
