What you need to know before the US open May 1, 2014 A flat open’s expected for US stocks today, as market digest the mixed variety of economic data and earnings reports coming in. Initial jobless claims were higher than expected for last week. 344,000 people signed up for unemployment benefit in the US – analysts expected 319,000, following 330,000 the week before. Personal spending rose 0.7 [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 01 May 2014 April 30, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Credit Suisse execs clashed on probeThe former head of Credit Suisse’s private bank for the Americas told government investigators he had clashed with superiors about the bank’s disclosures to a tax evasion probe, said people with direct knowledge of the situation. The claim suggests there was disagreement at senior levels of Credit Suisse [...]
Tobacco giant BAT’s revenue drops by 12pc April 30, 2014 BRITISH American Tobacco saw its declining sales ease off during the first quarter, but revenues were hit by unfavourable foreign exchange rates. The world’s second largest cigarette maker yesterday reported tobacco volumes, which measures total quantities sold, fell one per cent to 158bn sticks during the three months to the end of March – an [...]
British American Tobacco sees volumes fall despite emerging market growth April 30, 2014 British American Tobacco (BAT) has reported a fall in revenue of 12 per cent at current rates of exchange for the three months ended 31 March. The decline in revenue was attributed to lower volume and the timing of price increases. The tobacco giant's cigarette volume from subsidiaries declined by one per cent 158bn, with [...]
BP sticks by Rosneft as Russia crisis hits profit April 29, 2014 OIL GIANT BP yesterday reiterated its commitment to Rosneft, despite the US putting sanctions on its head earlier this week. The FTSE 100 firm owns an almost 20 per cent stake in the Russian oil producer, whose chief executive Igor Sechin is one of president Vladimir Putin’s oldest allies. Russia has been at loggerheads with [...]
EU extends sanctions over Ukraine April 29, 2014 THE EU has announced a further 15 people it has added to its list for sanctions over the violence in Ukraine. The list now contains the names of 48 Russian and pro- Russian individuals involved in the separatist movement. New sanctions have been announced against General Valery Gerasimov, first deputy defence minister, and Lieutenant General [...]
Petropavlovsk slumps as debt deadlines loom April 29, 2014 PETROPAVLOVSK’S share price plunged over 14 per cent yesterday, after the FTSE 250-listed miner posted a full-year loss of $713m (£423.3m), slashed its dividend and said it had not yet secured crucial refinancing agreements. The 2013 loss compared to a $244m loss in 2012 and was largely due to impairments and write-downs from the fall [...]
Norway’s Statoil posts bumper profit due to US gas price hike April 29, 2014 NORWEGIAN energy giant Statoil posted net profit of 23.7bn krone (£2.35bn) in the first quarter, up from 6.4bn krone the previous year, beating market expectations thanks to a rise in US gas prices. Statoil is present in all the major US shale gas plays and benefited from higher demand due to an unusually cold winter. [...]
London Report: Solid corporate earnings push FTSE near highs April 29, 2014 THE UK’S blue chip share index hit a seven and a half week closing high yesterday, bolstered by upbeat corporate earnings reports from oil major BP and wealth manager St James’s Place. BP, up 2.9 per cent, contributed most points to the UK benchmark index as it raised its quarterly dividend and said more share [...]
Letters to the Editor – 30/04 – Army reservists, Best of Twitter April 29, 2014 Army reservists [Re: Small firms fear effects of rise in army reservists, Monday] In your article, The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) calls on the Ministry of Defence to understand business concerns about the rise in army reservists. That is exactly what we are doing. With reservists set to play an expanded role in defence, [...]