Wall Street may be heading for a pullback as earnings season starts October 7, 2012 WALL Street may be bracing for a pullback as US earnings season begins this week – if the clouds of profit warnings from bellwethers ranging from FedEx to Hewlett-Packard lead to a downpour of lower profits, or even losses. Thanks to aggressive stimulus plans from central banks around the world, the Standard & Poor’s 500 [...]
Anniversary of Steve Jobs’ death October 4, 2012 TODAY marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Steve Jobs, former Apple chief executive. Jobs, who co-founded the company in 1976, is credited as a father of the personal computing revolution through products such as the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Jobs was also instrumental to the rise of film animation studio Pixar.
Hannam pipes up while Draghi wishes his mic had been muted October 4, 2012 IAN Hannam may have left JP Morgan after a £450,000 fine by the FSA for market abuse, but that hasn’t stopped the newly-established Natural Resources Forum from inviting him to be their keynote speaker at their inaugural event later this month. Hannam is renowned as one of the City’s most knowledgeable bankers in the field [...]
Popularity of defensive stocks sees FTSE rise but Spanish fears remain October 3, 2012 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index rose yesterday, driven by gains in “defensive” stocks seen as the most resilient to an economic downturn, although traders said concerns over Spain’s debt crisis could limit gains. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.3 per cent, or 16.36 points higher, at 5,825.81 points. Increases in heavyweight “defensive” stocks such [...]
Telecoms peace deal brings 4G to Britain October 2, 2012 BRITAIN’S four major mobile companies will all be able to offer high-speed mobile internet networks from as soon as next summer, after government-brokered talks between broadcasting regulator Ofcom and the operators last night moved forward the date that fourth-generation (4G) airwaves will be cleared for use. Culture secretary Maria Miller brought together the heads of [...]
Financial firms fall out of top brands October 2, 2012 BARCLAYS, Zurich and UBS have dropped out of a list of the world’s top 100 brands, making way for a slew of tech and luxury firms – as well as a well-known nappy maker. “Recent events, such as the notorious Libor scandal, have tarnished the reputation of leading brands,” said Interbrand, which compiled the 13th [...]
Samsung sues over iPhone 5 in latest clash October 2, 2012 SAMSUNG yesterday said it had launched legal proceedings in the US over the iPhone 5, claiming Apple has used the Korean firm’s own technology. In the latest in a string of lawsuits around the globe between the two technology giants, Samsung claims the latest iPhone model infringes on patents regarding sending music and video files [...]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can teach us more than economics textbooks October 2, 2012 CHRISTMAS is coming and retailers are beginning to push their offers hard. The first page of a Google search for “Christmas Toys 2012” is full of sites announcing the hot must-haves of the year. In total, there are over 75m results to be perused. Last year it was Mishling Tree Monsters and Doggie Doo that [...]
Manufacturing data gives Wall Street a boost October 1, 2012 WALL Street started a new quarter with a modest rally yesterday, lifted by a surprising expansion in US manufacturing in September. After rising more than one per cent by midday, the major US stock indexes came off their highs, with the Nasdaq the hardest-hit. Market participants said Wall Street has shown signs of fatigue as [...]
The business of winning a smile from a sceptic September 30, 2012 THE French policeman, or gendarme, didn’t look happy as he got off his motorbike. He had waved over my car after seeing me talking on my phone, and driving around a roundabout twice. However, his expression changed to one of utter disbelief when I greeted him with “Thank God you are here!” Before he could [...]