Heathrow traffic edges higher as Gatwick slides in the snow February 11, 2013 PASSENGER traffic at Heathrow inched up in January, in spite of cancellations caused by snow flurries, the airport’s owner said yesterday. Heathrow Limited, owned by Spanish firm Ferrovial and formerly known as BAA, said 5.18m people used the UK’s busiest airport last month, up 0.3 per cent on a year ago. Domestic travel fell 5.8 [...]
OECD indicator points to firmer UK economy in middle of 2013 February 11, 2013 SIGNS from the UK economy suggest that it will recover mildly over 2013, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD’s latest composite leading indicator (CLI), predicting economic conditions six months from last December again increased, but this time by only 0.09 points. This follows on the heels of stronger injections [...]
Don’t let the rise of the Brics mask burgeoning opportunities in the Gulf February 10, 2013 ONE of the most striking phrases in David Cameron’s recent speech on Europe was his recognition “that a new global race of nations is underway today”. Adapting to a fast-changing global economic order is critical to the continued prosperity of the UK. Over the past decade, a huge amount of focus has – quite rightly [...]
Osborne does the wrong thing while Hourican takes the fall February 6, 2013 DEPUTY heads must roll. It’s impossible to decrypt yesterday’s Libor-rigging settlement between Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and regulators in the UK and US without being reminded of that immortal phrase. John Hourican, who will step down as the boss of RBS’s investment bank at the end of April, is entitled to feel hard done [...]
Goldman’s O’Neill to step down February 5, 2013 THE ECONOMIST who first picked out the BRIC economies will retire from Goldman Sachs later this year. Jim O’Neill, the chairman of Goldman Sachs’ asset management division, coined the term to refer to the four markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which he forecast would lead a shift in the global economy. Earlier this [...]
Randgold boss warns changing mining codes will dent finance February 5, 2013 THE CHIEF executive of blue chip gold miner Randgold Resources has warned that making changes to mining codes in African countries could stunt investment in mining companies. Speaking at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, Mark Bristow said that Africa, which is rich in mineral terms, has to compete for investment with other regions [...]
BRICS roar their way out of global slowdown February 5, 2013 BUSINESS activity increased sharply in Brazil, Russia, India and China in January, banishing fears the world was set for an economic slowdown. Chinese output increased at its fastest rate for two years, according to Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) business survey, which rose from 51.8 in December to 53.5 in January – where 50 indicates [...]
Russian stock exchange priced February 4, 2013 MOSCOW’S stock exchange will be valued at up to $4.6bn in its planned stock market flotation, which will raise around $500m for the company and selling shareholders, according to a price range published yesterday. The Moscow Exchange, Russia’s main venue for trading in stocks, bonds, currencies and derivatives, is to float on its own platform [...]
Price rises help Diageo offset European woes January 31, 2013 DRINKS giant Diageo reported a rise in sales in the second half of the year, driven by price rises and growth in the US of premium brands like Ketel One vodka and Bulleit Bourbon. The maker of Baileys and Guinness beer saw global sales grow five per cent to £6.04bn in the six months to [...]
Taxing times for tobacco as smokers count the change January 30, 2013 THERE were more bleak economic figures out of Spain yesterday, with its output in the last quarter of 2012 down 1.8 per cent year-on-year. That won’t have been much of a surprise for Imperial Tobacco, which produced an interim management statement for the last quarter of 2012 that announced its six month adjusted operating profit [...]