Financials and miners lift the FTSE to a new high for 2012 March 14, 2012 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed at its highest level this year yesterday as banks and miners rallied after encouraging economic data out of Europe and the US, although volumes were weak and traders said the market could be nearing its top. London’s blue chip index closed up 63.16 points, or 1.1 per cent at 5,955.91, but [...]
Wall Street finally out of the woods March 14, 2012 WALL STREET’S financial crisis is almost over – or so the Federal Reserve would like us to believe. It rushed out the results of its stress tests of the 19 biggest US banks last night: just four failed – in all cases relatively narrowly – a test which gauged their ability to withstand a financial shock [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EARNINGS FORECASTS TAKE A BULLISH TURN Analysts last week upgraded more companies’ earnings forecasts globally than they downgraded for the first time since May last year. After 41 weeks of consecutive downgrades, net earnings per share revisions for next year turned positive powered by a surge in upgrades of Japanese companies and industrial [...]
UK retailers catch the February chill March 11, 2012 BRITISH RETAILERS suffered a slump in footfall last month as shoppers stayed away during the coldest February in over a decade and momentum from mid-market spenders continued to lag. The number of shoppers hitting Britain’s shops in February was down 5.7 per cent compared with the same month last year, according to research by retail [...]
FTSE books biggest rise for a month as optimism increases March 8, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index recorded its biggest daily rise in over a month yesterday, boosted by optimism about the US economic outlook as well as the outcome of Greece’s debt negotiations, although charts indicated that momentum could falter. Cyclical stocks, which tend to perform in tandem with economic growth, rose as US jobless claims data [...]
FTSE buoyed by miners and banks March 8, 2012 The FTSE 100 pushed higher this morning as investors gained confidence in Greece’s chances of completing a lifesaving bond swap later today. Major banks and pension funds, representing about 40 per cent of Greece’s outstanding debt, threw their weight behind Athens’ bond swap offer to private creditors yesterday. That should be eno€130bn fund for Greece [...]
Lebanese PM lifts stake in Sainsbury’s March 7, 2012 AN INVESTMENT fund founded by the Lebanese Prime Minister yesterday upped its stake in Sainsbury’s to more than three per cent, lifting the supermarket’s share during afternoon trading. Founded more than 40 years ago by brothers Taha and Najib Mikati – who has twice served as Lebanese PM since 2005 – the M1 Group today [...]
General Electric strikes deal on Kings Cross Central move March 7, 2012 US ENGINEERING giant General Electric has signed a deal to occupy a former Olympic landmark building in Argent’s huge King’s Cross central development scheme this summer. The so-called German Gymnasium next to King’s Cross Station was built by the German gymnastic team in 1865 and was used to host events at the 1866 London Olympic [...]
Olympics to boost London businesses March 7, 2012 THE OLYMPICS will lead to a business boom for London as the city is showcased to heads of states who will use their visit as a diplomatic opportunity, insisted the Department for Transport’s London director Jonathan Sharrock yesterday. Deloitte director Mark Naysmith said: “Two weeks before the Athens Olympics the smell of fresh paint lingered [...]
Miners, banks and positive US jobs data lift blue chip index March 7, 2012 R ECENTLY beaten down mining stocks and banks rallied yesterday to help haul Britain’s leading shares index higher, as above-forecast US private payrolls data provided a positive signal ahead of Friday’s key US February jobs report. The ADP National Employment Report said the US private sector added 216,000 jobs last month, topping economists’ expectations for [...]