Record-breaking Adele fails to save UK music industry January 2, 2012 MUSIC sales in the UK continued their downward slide last year despite an increase in digital sales, industry body BPI said yesterday, as it blamed the government for failing to tackle piracy. The voice of the British music industry – and the force behind the Brit Awards – yesterday released figures from The Official Charts [...]
Global stocks start 2012 with an upswing but experts are forecasting a New Year hangover January 2, 2012 EUROPEAN stocks ended higher in their first trading session of the year yesterday, led by defensive utilities such as E.ON and GDF Suez, while volumes were anaemic as UK and US markets remained closed for the New Year holiday. The handful of Asian markets that opened yesterday gave a more patchy performance, and analysts warned [...]
It’s crackers! Experts count the cost of Christmas lunch December 22, 2011 IF you’re heading to the supermarket today to pick up the ingredients for Christmas dinner, then along with your shopping trolley there’s one other basket you shouldn’t forget – the inflation basket. Choosing between broccoli and carrots may not seem like a crucial decision, but with food inflation and supermarket price wars hitting the cost [...]
Onward and upwards in 2012 please December 22, 2011 AS the business year draws to a close, there is one last opportunity to reflect on what has gone before, and to consider what might lie ahead. In the financial world, 2011 will forever be remembered as the year the wheels fell off the euro. The single currency is still intact, but nobody quite knows [...]
King: talk of euro’s fall is doomsaying December 22, 2011 BANK of England governor Mervyn King has compared those who forecast the break-up of the euro to unhinged doomsayers. Asked about the possibility of the end of the single currency, he said: “I remember as a student going to the centre of London and seeing on the main shopping street a man wearing a sandwich [...]
CITY A.M. EDITOR ALLISTER HEATH December 22, 2011 THANKS to you, our readers, we are delighted to be able to announce that our first ever Christmas Appeal has raised £401,116 for a very deserving charity. As you know, the money will go to Opportunity International, our chosen partner for the appeal, and help it in its wonderful job of providing a range of [...]
TAXPAYERS PETITION FOR PRIVATISATION OF THATCHER’S FUNERAL December 22, 2011 WHICH investment bank will underwrite the ticket sales at Margaret Thatcher’s privatised funeral? The Capitalist only asks because, as of last night, more than 14,000 people had signed up to the e-petition posted by Scott Morgan declaring that the Iron Lady’s state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector. After all, Baroness [...]
Investec bags Evo in time for Christmas December 22, 2011 INVESTEC formally closed its deal to buy British investment bank Evolution Group yesterday, following its final decision on lay-offs across both companies. Investec won its bid battle in August when it settled on a price of £233m all in shares, a premium of 28 per cent on Evolution’s share price the day before it disclosed [...]
ATMs put out more in December December 22, 2011 Today is expected to be the busiest day for cash machines withdrawals as last minute pre-Christmas shoppers hit the high street. Sainsbury’s Finance estimates that over £11bn will be withdrawn from ATMs in the UK this month – a substantial increase on the £10.3bn withdrawn last December, thought to be impaired by the cold winter [...]
Apple falls as Android leads smartphone sales December 22, 2011 APPLE’s crop is suffering in Europe due to increased competition and the troubled economy as Android nabs the top spot in the smartphone market, the researcher Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has revealed. While the iPhone 4S has been flying off British and American shelves, customers in continental Europe have been less enthralled by the company’s latest [...]