US consumer cheer dives June 30, 2009 CONFIDENCE among US consumers dived unexpectedly low in June, despite encouraging signs the worst of the housing slump may be over. The Conference Board’s sentiment index fell to 49.3 in June from 54.8 in May, suggesting the economy is still firmly in the grip of recession. The lack of consumer confidence reflects a weak labour [...]
Markets revving up for race towards year-end June 21, 2009 THE British Grand Prix this weekend has me thinking in motor racing analogies as the financial markets apply the brakes to one of the speediest equity rallies of this generation. As the end of the second quarter approaches, the chicane of thin summertime volumes and quiet corporate activity means we’re unlikely to accelerate into the [...]
Optimists start to look towards cyclical equities June 7, 2009 SPREAD betting on individual equities or sectors is a tricky task, especially at the moment when the timing of an economic recovery is still not entirely certain. Overall sentiment is picking up but companies are still downbeat about their future prospects – so how can spread betters try to make sense of the equity markets [...]
Final salary schemes on the way out June 4, 2009 PENSIONS analysts sounded the death knell for final salary pension schemes yesterday, after supermarket chain WM Morrison became the third major company in a week to end its scheme. The retailer’s decision to bring the curtain down on the scheme follows similar moves by Barclays, which transferred 18,000 staff to a hybrid scheme and energy [...]
Barclays ends final salary pension plan June 3, 2009 BARCLAYS told staff yesterday that it is to close its final salary pension scheme, prompting a furious response from unions, who accused the bank of stabbing its employees in the back. The bank said it was closing the scheme as a result of the mounting cost of financing pensions for some 18,000 staff. Members of [...]
Meet the oil man who is toughing out the harsh new era of low prices May 31, 2009 THE CHIEF executive of oil services business Wood Group Allister Langlands is in remarkably relaxed mood for a man who has seen oil plummet from $147 (£91) a barrel last July to around $65 currently, with all the mothballing of lucrative new projects a slump like that brings. The Aberdeen-based firm may have posted an [...]
Falling bond yields cheer Wall Street May 28, 2009 US stocks climbed more than 1 per cent yesterday as higher oil prices drove up energy shares and falling yields in the bond market eased concerns that higher borrowing costs would hinder economic recovery. Energy company shares, including Exxon Mobil, rose as US crude oil settled above $65 a barrel for its highest close since [...]
Don’t be spooked by inflation: there are ways to protect your portfolio August 15, 2008 Clever investors can protect themselves from the worst effects of rising prices, says Esther Shaw Figures out last week showed that inflation in the UK, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 4.4 per cent in July, more than double the Government’s 2 per cent target. On other measures, the figure is [...]
Tui Travel bookings beat the slowdown August 15, 2008 Tui Travel, Europe’s largest travel operator, said holiday booking continued to be robust as customers were not prepared to forgo their summer holiday despite the credit crunch. Chief executive Peter Long said the group’s “power brands” – Thomson in the UK and Tui in Germany – were holding up well in the economic climate. “It [...]
Smurfit profits rise despite higher costs August 12, 2008 Shares in Smurfit Kappa, the Irish cardboard packaging group, spiked yesterday after the firm reported better-than-expected results for the first half of the year. Operating profit at Smurfit Kappa, which floated in Dublin in March 2007, rose four per cent to €312m (£244m) despite rising energy costs and increased competition from US rivals benefiting from [...]