Hugo Boss and Remy Cointreau are both falling as Chinese gloom hits luxury brands November 26, 2013 It's been a distressing morning for luxury brands – both Hugo Boss and Remy Cointreau. Updates released this morning reveal that both are underperforming in China. Hugo Boss CEO Claus-Dietrich Lahrs has said that the group won't be hitting its 2015 core operating profit target of €750m (£630m). That's on slower than expected growth in [...]
Bank of England to assess leverage ratio November 26, 2013 Chancellor George Osborne and Bank of England governor Mark Carney have agreed that the Bank should conduct an assessment of the leverage ratio. The leverage ratio a ratio of a bank's lending to its equity. The Chancellor and Governor have agreed that @BankofEngland should carry out an assessment of the leverage ratio. — HM Treasury [...]
Italian consumer confidence up ahead of Christmas November 26, 2013 Consumers are a little more optimistic in Italy this November. Istat saw consumer confidence climb from 97.3 to 98.3 this month – despite analysts forecasting that there would be no change. Unemployment expectations rose from 71 to 74.
Monte Paschi shares halted as stock plummets on news of capital increase November 26, 2013 Shares in the world's oldest bank have fallen by over 10 per cent on reports that its board is considering a capital increase in coming months. Trading in the bank has now been halted. The troubled institution – Monte dei Paschi – may approve a capital hike of as much as €3bn (£2.5bn) next January.
US home sales disappoint as they hit 10 month low November 25, 2013 US pending home sales have dropped by 0.6 per cent in October, despite analysts forecasting that they would rise by 1.3 per cent. The previous month's drop looks less severe after revisions, from minus 5.6 per cent to minus 4.6 per cent. In the year to October pending home sales have fallen by 2.2 per [...]
Markets are roaring – Nasdaq hits 4,000 for first time in 13 years November 25, 2013 US indexes are surging on open, as the Nasdaq has passed 4,000 for the first time since September 2000. That follows Germany's Dax reaching a record high, passing 9,300 for the first time. MSCI's All-Country World Index has also moved higher, reaching five year highs. Much of that momentum comes from the successful negotiation of [...]
Bank mourns passing of former governor Robin Leigh-Pemberton November 25, 2013 The Bank of England's former governor, Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, passed away last night. The central banker was educated at Eton, then Trinity College, Oxford. He would serve as governor from 1983 to 1993, before which he worked as chairman of National Westminster Bank and of several industrial companies. Current governor Mark Carney extended "sincere [...]
BlackBerry’s operations and marketing chiefs out – new finance boss in November 25, 2013 BlackBerry's reorganisation marches on. Chief operating officer, Kristian Tear, and chief marketing officer, Frank Boulben, are out. They've simultaneously announced their new chief financial officer hire. James Yersh will replace Brian Bidulka. Yersh has been with the company since 2008 and has more than 15 years of experience in the industry. John Chen, executive chair [...]
Reading the HS2 bill before consultation ends is equivalent to finishing War and Peace every other day November 25, 2013 Want to be properly informed about the HS2 debate, and you've maybe even considered reading the bill? An estimated length of around 49,000 pages might make you reconsider. The Woodland Trust say that attempting to finish the document is roughly equivalent to reading Leo Tolstoy's Russian classic "War and Peace" every other day. Here are [...]
Analysts say US Fed is like a virus which learns and adapts November 25, 2013 Ashmore analysts have likened the US Federal Reserve to a virus, which will try its hand at harder medicine after markets ignored chairman Ben Bernanke's verbal guidance in May. They expect the Fed to attempt to begin tapering of QE – a reduction in the rate of expansion of the monetary base – in early [...]
