AUSSIE COULD FALL BEYOND EXPECTATIONS October 4, 2011 VISTING Australia on business I am astounded at the cost everything. For an American, Sydney is now as prohibitively expensive as Zurich. A simple cup of coffee and a mineral water cost more than $12 at any sidewalk café. The high cost of living is a testament to the Aussie’s strong appreciation over the past [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES M&S ASKS SUPPLIERS TO AID STORE REVAMPS Marks and Spencer has asked its top clothing suppliers for a multimillion-pound contribution to its store revamp plans and a step-up in advertising. At a gathering on Friday of M&S’s top 60 clothing and homewares suppliers, Marc Bolland, chief executive, asked them for a one-off contribution [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BTG GAINS TOP BANKER AS IT EYES EXPANSION Roger Jenkins, the high-profile former Barclays executive, has joined BTG Pactual as a managing partner as Brazil’s largest independent investment bank and asset manager gears up its ambitious expansion plans. Jenkins, a star banker best known for orchestrating a £7bn fundraising for Barclays from Middle [...]
Luxury goods maker Hermes sees no sign of affluent cutting spending October 2, 2011 FRENCH luxury goods maker Hermes sees no sign yet of affluent buyers tightening their purse strings in spite of a sombre global economic outlook. Speaking at the brand’s show at Paris Fashion Week yesterday, chief executive Patrick Thomas said: “For the moment, there is no impact on our sales.” He added that he believed the [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD October 2, 2011 INVESTORS are worried US earnings growth may finally fall back to earth as turmoil in Europe and signs of a less robust Chinese economy hurt foreign support. The Eurozone’s debt crisis and weakness in China have fuelled investor concern that the global economy could tip back into recession, possibly dampening US earnings growth at a [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD October 2, 2011 COMPANY NEWS ● James Halstead announces today. Its flooring can be found near and far: from the Scott Base in Antarctica, to the Svalbard Hotel on the edge of the polar icecap. ● Tomorrow, Wolseley will deliver its full year results. The FTSE 100 heating and plumbing distributor operates in 25 countries, with 4,400 branches [...]
Eurozone deal fails to breathe new life into markets September 30, 2011 The FTSE 100 opened down today as action to increase the Eurozone’s bailout fund failed to breathe new life into global markets. World stocks fell with European shares set to post their biggest quarterly decline since the collapse of Lehman Brothers three years ago, as investors grappled with a slowdown in global growth and the [...]
Commodities on track for dire quarter September 29, 2011 COMMODITIES, which are on course to close on their worst quarter since 2008 amid concerns over a global slowdown, gained some breathing space yesterday after the German parliament backed plans to expand the Eurozone’s bailout fund. Copper – often seen as a bell-weather for economic growth – as well as other industrial metals have been [...]
FTSE falls on worries of China and copper losing momentum September 29, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell back yesterday, bucking firmer trends from both US and European equity markets and under pressure from big falls by heavyweight miners on lower copper prices amid concerns over future demand. Traders highlighted some anxiety over growth from major metals consumer China ahead of official September PMI numbers, due out on [...]
Wall Street closes up after rocky day September 29, 2011 US stocks mostly rose in a volatile session yesterday as stronger-than-expected economic data and German approval of a beefed-up Eurozone crisis fund relieved two of the worst fears hanging over the market. But the Nasdaq was knocked lower by a brutal sell-off in US-listed Chinese stocks on news of a probe into accounting practices and [...]