LONDON REPORT April 22, 2012 UK investors are set for a busy week with a slew of earnings both here and on Wall Street, the release of Britain’s quarterly GDP rate and a decision from the Fed on the US Bank rate. Both the Nationwide Housing Prices report and Nationwide Consumer Confidence report are due out this week and today’s [...]
Microsoft beats expectations to push shares up April 19, 2012 MICROSOFT beat its profit forecast as PC sales held up better than expected, it revealed last night, lifting its shares 2.5 per cent in after hours trading. The results buoyed optimism around the world’s largest software maker, which is lining up a new tablet-friendly version of Windows for later this year and is looking to [...]
BlackRock boss gloomy while profit ticks up April 18, 2012 BLACKROCK chief executive Laurence Fink has issued a warning over the health of global markets as the world’s largest money manager beat expectations to post almost flat profits. He said the markets were “quite fragile” despite a powerful rally in the first quarter, driven in part by an easing in turmoil in Europe. Major investors [...]
Japanese confidence jumps April 17, 2012 The mood of Japanese consumers improved to a one-year high last month, according to a cabinet office survey published yesterday. Consumer confidence was boosted by hopes for support from post-quake reconstruction, following last year’s devastating natural disaster. The survey’s index showed that views on income and jobs averaged 40.3 in March, up from 39.9 in [...]
Diversity is about far more than making your company look nice April 17, 2012 Making the most of diverse ways of thought is central to getting your business to perform at its full potential DIVERSITY is often a word thrown around in business without much thought. Too often, “diversity” is seen as a presentational device: something that looks good in a corporate social responsibility report. “What does our company [...]
UK inflation rises April 17, 2012 British inflation ticked up in March, driven by higher food and clothing prices and reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will not inject more stimulus into the economy next month. The Bank of England and the government have been hoping that falling price pressures will ease the squeeze on Britons’ budgets and boost consumer spending. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 16, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES AB InBev takes over Dominica’s CND Anheuser-Busch InBev is to pay $1.24bn for control of fellow brewer Cervecería Nacional Dominicana. Cautious go-ahead for fracking The future of hydraulic fracturing – known as fracking – the contentious natural gas extraction technology – has been boosted after a report cleared the way for a company [...]
Moulton buys Jaeger despite UK retail woes April 16, 2012 JON Moulton has admitted his concern over the health of Britain’s high street despite making a £19.5m swoop on Jaeger, the upmarket fashion chain set up nearly 130 years ago. The private equity veteran told City A.M. it is “almost inconceivable” that he will not close some of Jaeger’s 50 stores and 90 concessions after [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU seeks new curbs on bonuses Bankers’ bonuses across Europe would be capped at no more than their fixed salaries under strict new curbs sought by senior lawmakers in response to continued public anger over financial sector pay. EU parliamentarians are drawing up new caps on bonuses to be included in the latest [...]
Commercial property firms at their busiest in over two years April 12, 2012 COMMERCIAL property developers in Britain have enjoyed their busiest month in more than two years, according to research out today. Public sector work has expanded for the first time since February 2010, while private sector developers posted their first growth in nine months, figures compiled by Markit for Savills showed. Around one in four commercial [...]