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. [...]
Profit from the energy of Brazil’s private sector April 6, 2011 THE Brazilian stock market has beaten its fellow Brics – Russia, India and China – since 2002 and its future looks strong. Carlos de Leon, who manages the Allianz RCM Brazil fund, is an advocate for the country’s long-term potential. Whether in energy, healthcare, education or retail, de Leon believes that Brazilian companies will be [...]
FTSE lags over China’s rate hike and European debt fears April 5, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower yesterday as miners fell on concerns that an interest rate hike in China could hurt demand for metals and banks dropped on worries over European debt. The FTSE 100 closed down 9.92 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 6,007.06, having rallied 7.4 per cent off lows hit in March [...]
UK manufacturing slows as costs rise April 1, 2011 UK manufacturing growth came under pressure in March and output prices rose to a record high, according to a new report. Manufacturing activity fell to 57.1 on the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index, down from a record high of 60.2 in February, as growth slowed to a five-month low. A combination of weak consumer confidence, surging [...]
MORE FIRMS JOIN NORTH SEA MUTINY March 30, 2011 PRESSURE mounted on George Osborne to rethink his oil profit tax raid yesterday, as more oil firms threatened to shelve lucrative projects in the North Sea in protest at the chancellor’s surprise levy. Gas giant Centrica, oil explorer Valiant and French group Total all said yesterday they are reviewing current and future investments in the [...]
EU bailout nears for Portugal March 28, 2011 PORTUGAL lurched closer to an EU bailout yesterday as its largest banks were downgraded by S&P and the European Central Bank (ECB) revealed that it was forced to intervene in bond markets last week for the first time in a month. The ECB bought €432m’s (£380.6m) worth of bonds on the secondary market, with economists [...]
FACT CHECKER March 24, 2011 THE CLAIM: THE SHOCK RISE IN SUPPLEMENTARY TAXES FOR OIL FIRMS FROM 20 TO 32 PER CENT WILL MAKE PETROL PRICES AT THE PUMPS RISE The chancellor said he will pay for a new fuel price stabiliser and 1p fuel tax cut with a massive hike for companies producing oil in the UK – from [...]
High-energy industries hit by carbon price floor March 24, 2011 ENERGY policy changes introduced in the Budget will heap costs on energy-intensive industries, pressure groups warned yesterday. Energy-intensive manufacturers of products such as steel, glass and paper will see their costs soar as the carbon price floor rises from £16 per tonne of CO2 today to £30/tonne by 2020. Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy [...]
CWW tanks after warning on its profits March 24, 2011 CABLE & Wireless Worldwide’s (CWW) shares plummeted more than 14 per cent to 54.2p yesterday after shocking the market with a profit warning. It downgraded its expectations for core earnings next year on weaker-than-expected demand for voice services and anticipated lower prices for data services. It said it does not expect to increase its Ebitda [...]