Pain in Spain will continue to reign June 11, 2012 AFTER opening to a flurry of optimism – following this weekend’s agreement to bail out Spanish banks – stock markets had sunk back down by the end of yesterday. It’s business as usual for Europe, and business is usually pretty bad right now. “Friday’s late price action on the Ibex 35 was indicative – traders [...]
LONDON REPORT June 10, 2012 THE week starts with a quarterly trading statement from grocer Tesco, which is expected to report a fall in earnings because of tough economic conditions and fierce competition. Tomorrow will see the release of the UK’s latest industrial production and manufacturing data, plus a speech from Paul Tucker, deputy governor of the Bank of England. [...]
The Fugue set to grab centre stage for Lloyd-Webber in today’s Investec Oaks May 31, 2012 Fourteen fillies have been declared for this afternoon’s Investec Oaks, the highlight of Investec Ladies’ Day, and Aidan O’Brien saddles an astonishing six of them. Admittedly, the master of Ballydoyle has issued a word of warning about Kissed’s participation if the ground is not suitable, but even five fillies makes for a monster team. O’Brien [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 30, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Transparency on banks’ treasury units urged International banks must improve disclosure of often obscure treasury unit investments following the recent $2bn trading loss at JPMorgan’s chief investment office, rating agencies and bank analysts have urged. Malaysia fund nears £375m Battersea deal A Malaysian pension fund is poised to seal a £375m deal to [...]
FTSE lurches towards worst month since August May 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning as the Eurozone’s debt woes continued to cast a shadow and hopes that China would trigger further fiscal stimulus were dealt a blow. Investors are awaiting the European Commission’s economic strategy on how austerity measures can be introduced without quashing the growth required for recovery. Concerns about Spain’s ability [...]
InterContinental names Cescau as chairman May 25, 2012 Unilever veteran Patrick Cescau is to become the new chairman of the world’s biggest hotelier InterContinental Hotels Group at the beginning of next year following the retirement of the 67-year old David Webster. French born Cescau, aged 63, spent 35 years working for the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant culminating in his role as chief executive [...]
Waitrose and budget grocers outpace rivals May 22, 2012 TESCO AND MORRISONS’ market shares are still under pressure from fierce competition, retail data showed yesterday, as upmarket and discount retailers outpaced the middle market. Kantar Worldpanel figures for the 12 weeks to 13 May 2012 revealed that Aldi grew sales by more than 25 per cent compared with the same period last year, achieving [...]
Miners push up FTSE 100 May 22, 2012 Britain’s leading share index jumped yesterday, driven by gains in mining stocks as the demand picture for metals was brightened by hopes of fresh moves by China to boost its economy. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was up 98.80 points – or 1.9 per cent – at 5,403.28 points, adding strongly to Monday’s 0.7 per cent [...]
Manduca in line for chairman’s role at the Pru May 20, 2012 PAUL MANDUCA, one of the City’s best-known fund managers, is set to become the new chairman of Prudential, putting an end to a five-month search for Harvey McGrath’s successor. Manduca, 60, joined the board of Prudential, the UK’s biggest life assurer, as a senior independent director in October 2010 and has been overseeing the search [...]
Asda market share up as it lures shoppers with price guarantee May 17, 2012 ASDA, the British arm of supermarket giant Walmart, said it continued to gain market share in the first quarter of the year as its focus on low prices and a revamping of own-brand ranges helped drive sales growth. The UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain behind Tesco, said like-for-like sales excluding fuel and VAT accelerated in the [...]