Japan hopes to stimulate itself back to prosperity January 21, 2013 SINCE taking office in December, the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been determined to throw everything he can at his economy to try to get it moving again. As well as a massive ¥10.3 trillion (£72bn) government stimulus package, the newly-installed Japanese government has fixed the strong yen in its sights, and has made [...]
Retail sales slip in December January 18, 2013 British retail sales posted a surprise fall in December, crushing hopes that buoyant Christmas trading would provide a boost to the economy. The Office for National Statistics said this morning that sales including fuel fell 0.1 per cent month on month in December. On an annual basis, retail sales posted a jump of 0.3 per [...]
Michael Page sees mixed start to the year in the jobs market January 15, 2013 WHITE collar recruiter Michael Page yesterday posted a 4.9 per cent fall in profits, in line with its pared-back expectations, and predicts a patchy start to the year. Chief executive Steve Ingham said that while some of the firm’s offices in Asia and South America were enjoying strong growth, the Eurozone and the financial services [...]
Wall Street gets back to business as first full week of earnings starts January 13, 2013 AFTER over a month of watching Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue, Wall Street can get back to what it knows best: Wall Street. The first full week of earnings season is dominated by the financial sector – big investment banks and commercial banks – just as retail investors, free from the fiscal cliff worries, have [...]
The good, the bad January 10, 2013 THE DIVIDED state of the UK retail sector was brought into sharp focus yesterday as an upbeat Tesco and Shop Direct claimed victory in the Christmas retail wars, while Marks and Spencer suffered the fallout of a worse-than-expected festive period. Following muted performances by rivals Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, a resurgent Tesco revealed its strongest sales [...]
Wanted: more advisers to deliver a Royal Mail sale January 10, 2013 THE investment banks are on board and now the next stage ahead of the ultimate privatisation of the Royal Mail is about to be sorted; the appointment of a financial public relations team that will sell a deal to the City via the financial media. Various firms, including City heavyweight RLM Finsbury, are vying to [...]
Gangnam Style makes its way to Norton Rose January 10, 2013 SOUTH Korean rapper Psy’s song Gangnam Style may have broken a Guinness world record and received over 1bn hits on YouTube. However the latest parody of the video’s horseriding dance has come from an unexpected source. Lawyers at Norton Rose’s Hong Kong office have produced their own version of the viral video, and even posted [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 8, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Telecoms discuss Europe network Europe’s top telecoms executives are discussing the creation of a pan-European infrastructure network to unite the continent’s fragmented national markets, following prompting from Brussels to consider more radical options. The idea of pooling telecoms infrastructure emerged at a private meeting between Joaquín Almunia, the EU’s competition chief, and bosses [...]
Rolls-Royce is hit by claims of bribery in China engine deals January 7, 2013 ROLLS-ROYCE has been accused of bribing two airlines in China, as more details emerge about a corruption investigation centred on the FTSE 100 firm’s overseas arms. The engineering giant said in December that it had handed information to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), after an internal probe uncovered “matters of concern” in Indonesia and China. [...]
Madrid might just be the best capital city you’ve never been to January 6, 2013 TO MOST Brits, Barcelona is the Spanish city. The whacky cathedral by Gaudi that isn’t finished almost 90 years after he died, “Barca” the only football team in the world that leads a debate on independence, Las Ramblas, F1, the list goes on. Yet to the Spanish, Madrid is their Capital, not just in name [...]