Centrica warns surprise tax hike means higher bills for customers May 9, 2011 ENERGY giant Centrica yesterday warned customers to brace themselves for bill rises as the Treasury’s tax hike on oil and gas firms starts to eat into the firm’s earnings. The firm said the surprise tax raid would cost the company £300m this year, and it expects to report “more modest” growth in the future as [...]
Commodity crash sends US tumbling May 5, 2011 US stocks fell for a fourth day yesterday as a massive sell-off in commodities spilled into other markets, forcing investors out of riskier assets and rattling the equities market before today’s payrolls data. Oil suffered the biggest one-day price drop ever for the Brent futures contract, which settled down 8.6 per cent at $110.80 per [...]
A green tax that risks economic sustainability May 2, 2011 FROM 2013, a tax on carbon producers will be unilaterally implemented by the UK upon carbon intensive industries. Costs to UK based businesses are estimated to be in the region of £9.3bn, undermining their competitiveness, damaging energy producers and users, and ultimately hitting the wallet of consumers. Presently, about half of Europe’s emissions are covered [...]
US GDP growth slows but inflation soars April 28, 2011 US economic growth slowed more than expected in the first quarter as higher food and petrol prices hit consumer spending and sent a key inflation measure rising at its fastest pace in two-and-a-half years. Growth in US GDP braked to a 1.8 per cent annual rate after a 3.1 per cent fourth quarter pace, the [...]
US jobless claims and producer prices rise April 14, 2011 Prices paid by US factories picked up pace in March as the disruption caused by Japan’s earthquake began to be felt in the auto industry and fuel prices rose strongly. Another report has also showed a surprise jump in US jobless claims that raised some questions among investors about the health of the labour market [...]
Slow growth for American retail sector April 13, 2011 RETAIL sales in the US rose for the ninth straight month in March but at a weaker rate than expected, it was revealed yesterday. On a mixed day of news for the US economy, sales were announced at 0.4 per cent up on February, largely driven by higher petrol prices. Receipts at petrol stations, which [...]
Barclays warns that inflation could soar past five per cent April 13, 2011 INFLATION could still rise above five per cent this year, economists at Barclays claimed yesterday. The announcement surprised analysts after consumer price inflation sank to four per cent in March, from 4.4 per cent the previous month. However, strong upwards pressures in food and energy costs will drive inflation to a peak of 5.1 per [...]
Inflation dips on food prices April 12, 2011 INFLATION surprisingly slowed to four per cent in March, down from February’s 28-month high of 4.4 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. Consumer prices rose 0.3 per cent from February to March, yet compared to the same months last year inflation slowed by 0.4 per cent. Food discounts by the UK’s [...]
FTSE falls sharply as Japan crisis hits commodity shares April 12, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index fell sharply yesterday, led by commodity stocks which suffered partly from concerns over the nuclear crisis in Japan and the impact of the earthquake on its economy and also global growth. This dented mining stocks and technology firms such as ARM Holdings. Miners dropped sharply, weighed down too by Alcoa’s fall [...]
Wall Street dips ahead of earnings April 11, 2011 US stocks mostly fell yesterday as energy shares sold off on lower oil prices, and as the earnings season onset was clouded by concern company outlooks may fall short of expectations. Worries that increased raw material costs and the effects from Japan’s earthquake may affect coming quarters will put companies’ forward-looking statements under extra scrutiny. [...]