THE TIPSTER OMAHA’S ORACLE FEASTS AT THE BARGAIN BUFFET January 30, 2012 THE shares of Tesco plunged in mid-January after the retail giant announced an unexpected fall in Christmas sales. The sell-off took the price down through support at 350p and also broke the long-term up-trend. News that Warren Buffett increased his holding to 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent helped to lift the shares, but [...]
A continent still growing nowhere fast January 29, 2012 FOR Europeans at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, the 2012 theme – “the great transformation” – had a thoroughly gloomy ring to it. The phrase harks back to Karl Polanyi’s account of the transformational and traumatic rise of the market economy in England. But as Europe undergoes another epic transformation, it is [...]
A great growth market for London January 26, 2012 IT’S Friday, so for once let me recount a positive, upbeat success story. Increasingly, we are paying our way in the world by attracting visitors from overseas, who spend lots and sustain a growing number of jobs. London is third in the Euromonitor overseas visitor rankings, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. We are easily the [...]
Goldman’s London HQ to be sold January 25, 2012 Chinese real estate investor Gaw Capital Partners is in talks to buy Goldman Sachs’ London HQ for about £300m in the latest deal underlining the safe haven appeal of the city’s property market, a source said. Gaw, through its Downtown Properties vehicle, is in the final stages of talks to do the deal for the [...]
Uncertainty holds sway over the FTSE January 23, 2012 GFT DAVID MORRISON The FTSE 100 fell 6 per cent last year, which was bad news for buy and hold investors. Its performance compared poorly with the major US indices: the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 5 per cent gain, while the broader-based S&P 500 index ended flat. Nevertheless, the UK index easily outperformed [...]
At least world won’t end in 2012 January 22, 2012 AMONG the many gloomy predictions for the coming year, what really catches the eye is the one that says the world will end on 21 December 2012. This is, debatably, the prognosis of the Mayan calendar of eschatology. If the world were really to end on that date, one suspects it would come as a [...]
Soft landing in China as euro hits exports January 17, 2012 ECONOMIC growth in China slowed to a two and a half year low in the fourth quarter of 2011, though the data points to a “soft landing” rather than the hard deterioration economists feared. Chinese GDP grew by 8.9 per cent in the year, compared with 9.1 per cent in the 12 months to the third [...]
Rio Tinto output is hit by China fears January 17, 2012 LONDON-LISTED miner Rio Tinto yesterday reported almost flat iron ore production growth for the fourth quarter, weaker than some market expectations amid concerns that Chinese demand is softening. The company reported a three per cent rise in output between the third and fourth quarters of 2011, down from growth of nearly double that at the [...]
Bringing the renminbi to the City of London January 17, 2012 FOLLOWING a two day visit to China, George Osborne yesterday announced that Britain had agreed to partner with Hong Kong to develop the City of London as an offshore trading centre for the renminbi. Hong Kong is currently the only official offshore renminbi venue, but Osborne hopes to turn London into a second offshore venue [...]
Burberry sales buoyed by Asia January 17, 2012 Luxury retailer Burberry saw a 21 per cent rise in fourth-quarter sales, fuelled by continuing growth in China. In the last quarter of 2011, revenue rose to £574m, with sales in Chinese shops up 30 per cent Burberry attributed the rise to knitwear, men’s accessories and fragrance. Angela Ahrendts, Burberry chief executive officer said: “Our [...]