Standard Chartered shares are dropping on news that income will be flat on 2012 December 4, 2013 Not a good morning for Standard Chartered. Their stock is dropping after anouncing that their income is "expected to be broadly flat on 2012." Investors don't appreciate that news. They identified ongoing weakness in own account income and more recent pressure in financial markets as the "main drags" to overall performance this year. Peter Sands, [...]
This new paper reveals the secrets of investment guru Warren Buffett December 3, 2013 It's an old question – and until now an unanswered one – just how does Warren Buffett manage to make all that money? The investment guru is an anomaly, and the chart below is a reminder (if you needed one). It's a representation of the success of Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway. Its returns are a [...]
Improvements at state-backed Lloyds see S&P upgrade rating – Now Osborne has to sell the rest December 3, 2013 Ratings agencies seem a bit happier with Lloyds. While they struggle to deal with the way in which the bank is backed by the government, and accordingly the institution's headline ratings can be a misguiding – Lloyds' remains unchanged at A – other improvements at Lloyds are being recognised in another form. Standard & Poor's [...]
City A.M.’s bumper Autumn Statement preview December 3, 2013 As chancellor George Osborne gets set to unveil this year's Autumn statement on Thursday, we've pulled together all the expected announcements, and what others are hoping for. Ladbrokes have 11/5 odds on the speech to run for 45 to 50 minutes (it's scheduled to start at 11.15am). You'll get 6/4 odds on the speech running [...]
Turning on the lights for Cirque du Soleil is no easy job December 3, 2013 The power demands of Cirque du Soleil have risen a bit since its first days as a small 1980s theatre troupe in Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada. With 73 employees in 1984 – the company has since blown up to hire over 5,000 staff worldwide. Now they've signed up Aggreko – a leader in power provision – to [...]
PC sales are set to crash by over 10 per cent this year December 3, 2013 Desktop PCs have fallen out of fashion, and International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates show that reflected in plummeting sales figures. Having fallen by just four per cent last year, total PC sales (both laptops and desktops) are set to see a double digit fall in 2013. While total sales growth is expected to recover somewhat [...]
OECD report confirms the UK is pouring money into schools without success December 3, 2013 We're throwing money at schools in the UK, and not getting much bang for that buck, is the alarming message from the OECD's 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report. Our schools are ranked just 26th for maths, 23rd for reading and 21st for science – out of 34 OECD countries. That's damning for [...]
Expansion in UK construction is strongest in over six years – but where are the homes? December 3, 2013 As the Bank of England pulls away the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) mortgage incentives the UK's construction sector has seen a huge beat. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector rose from 59.4 to a staggering 62.6 in November. Analysts had expected a fall to 59.0. That's the highest level since August 2007. [...]
RBS and Natwest apologise for payment chaos on Cyber Monday December 3, 2013 RBS and Natwest have apologised on social media service Twitter for the failure of the giant bank's payment system last night. Hundreds of thousands of customers couldn't make online purchases, as well as being unable to use physical debit and credit cards. We are very sorry for the issues that have affected customers tonight. — [...]
Five reasons delivery drones won’t take off December 2, 2013 The news is buzzing with hopes for Amazon's drone-based delivery service – Prime Air. But skies in the UK will remain quieter for the time-being. Here's why. 1. Regulation John Moreland, a spokesperson for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Systems Association (UAVS) says that regulator fears over drone technology still hold back development. The Civil Aviation [...]
