Burberry fast tracks expansion plan as profit soars May 26, 2011 Burberry is stepping up spending on new stores and upgrading existing ones to cash in on a boom in spending on luxury goods, it said as it met forecasts with a 39 per cent leap in annual profit. The British maker of raincoats and handbags, best known for its camel, red and black check pattern, [...]
Britain’s long journey back to sanity May 24, 2011 HERE is a little test for you, dear reader. How much do you think public spending has been cut over the past year? Five per cent? 10 per cent? Maybe 20 per cent? I’m afraid you will be disappointed. Total spending is up by well over four per cent in cash terms and by more [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 24, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES POLL SHOWS MAJORITY OF INVESTORS USE VOTES Almost eight in 10 UK institutional investors exercise their voting rights in all the companies in which they own shares, according to a survey by the Investment Management Association. The finding, in a report setting out the extent of shareholder involvement in the early days of [...]
THE TIPSTER May 24, 2011 A SURPRISE shortfall in tax receipts and news that the Chinese downgraded UK sovereign debt took the shine off sterling in yesterday’s trade, but there’s little reason to be cheering the euro now, either. Eurozone debt concerns remain high and even the release of some marginally better than expected economic readings from Germany isn’t going [...]
Blast at Apple’s China supply factory halts production May 24, 2011 Production of Apple technology products at a Chinese factory have been suspended after an explosion last Friday left three workers dead and 15 injured. The blast was in the polishing department of Foxconn Technology’s Chengdu plant in southwest China, where Apple’s iPad 2 tablets are finished, according to local media reports. Foxconn has not confirmed [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 23, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UK BUILDERS SEE VALUE OF ORDERS COLLAPSE The value of work awarded to UK construction companies crashed during the past year, raising concerns that the impact of government spending cuts will be far worse than previously feared. The total value of new work awarded to the UK’s 50 leading construction companies fell by [...]
Euro woes and commodity falls leave FTSE low May 23, 2011 Fears of debt default in Greece, election upset in Spain and weakness in Italy’s economy caused the FTSE to tank to a two-month low today. Commodity stocks led the fallers as the FTSE 100 index plunged more than 100 points to close down 1.9 per cent at 5,835.89. Investors abandoned risky assets after rating agency [...]
FTSE hit by China growth fears and eurozone crisis May 23, 2011 Commodity stocks took a hammering in early trading today as miners and energy related groups suffered from uncertainty in the global economy. The eurozone debt crisis continued to cast a shadow after Italy’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s from stable to negative. Chinese manufacturing data from HSBC showing a ten-month low also [...]
Chinese expansion healthy for City of London May 22, 2011 UNLESS witnessed first-hand, it is difficult to grasp the sheer scale of economic growth in China or the level of international investment that has continued unabated despite the recent financial crisis. As a member of the Shanghai International Advisory Council – whose annual meeting I attended last week – I have been left in no [...]
LINKEDIN SURGES 109% ON DAY ONE May 19, 2011 Flotation of social network sparks fear of new dot.com bubble SHARES in LinkedIn exploded during their first day of trading, racing more than 170 per cent above their float price of $45 before closing 109.4 per cent higher at $94.25. The stock hit a peak of $122.70, bringing back memories of the dot.com boom of [...]