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 [...]
FTSE rises as investors shift gaze from Eurozone to China January 16, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday, led by miners, as investors’ attention shifted from the Euro zone debt crisis towards economic data from China. Mining stocks tracked metals prices higher as markets eyed a batch of Chinese data due today, including GDP and industrial production, for further clues on the outlook for demand. “There’s a perception [...]
World shares lift despite dip in Asia January 16, 2012 EUROPEAN shares and the euro gradually recovered yesterday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of Euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default. Markets had already reacted to the downgrades on Friday, and European assets steadied by yesterday afternoon, but activity [...]
GOLD REMAINS A PRECIOUS COMPONENT OF A PORTFOLIO January 16, 2012 Ionce heard an analyst say that gold should be viewed as an insurance policy, not as an investment. That’s good advice for anyone who is contemplating a position in the yellow metal in 2012. Gold has very little industrial use and yields no return, so its investment credentials are dubious. However, throughout history gold has [...]
Banks welcome China-UK talks on forex trade January 15, 2012 TWO OF Britain’s biggest banks have welcomed government efforts to establish the City as the world’s biggest centre for trading China’s currency outside Hong Kong. Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands and his counterpart at HSBC, Stuart Gulliver, have both committed to send senior representatives to bi-annual lobbying meetings with the Bank of China, Barclays [...]
BAA traffic up as Heathrow has record December January 11, 2012 Traffic at airports operated by BAA rose last month with Heathrow enjoying its busiest December ever in terms of both passenger numbers and cargo which grew for the first time since February 2011 on an underlying basis. BAA, which is Britain’s main airport operator and majority owned by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial, said on Wednesday [...]
Weak exports boost looser policy hopes January 10, 2012 CHINESE trade grew at its slowest pace for two years last month, official figures revealed yesterday. However, markets rose in the hope that such weak figures would prompt the authorities to cut interest rates in an effort to stimulate demand. China’s exports expanded by 13.4 per cent in the year to December, the slowest growth [...]