M&B toasts a dining uplift November 26, 2009 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday said it was optimistic about Christmas trading as it switched to a food focus to compensate for slower drinks revenue. The group said that it has recently introduced its “winter menu” to take advantage of the rise in consumer confidence, which has sparked people to splash out on good [...]
THE LONDON REPORT November 23, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index ended sharply higher yesterday, snapping a four-day losing streak, with commodity and banking stocks rallying after comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official. The FTSE 100 index finished up 104.09 points, or 2 per cent, at 5,355.50 and recorded its biggest one-day percentage rise in more than six weeks. The [...]
Hike in commodity costs hits miners and energy stocks November 19, 2009 Britain’s top share index fell 1.4 per cent yesterday as sagging commodity prices dented miners and energy stocks, while reduced risk appetite hurt banks. The FTSE 100 ended down 74.43 points at 5267.70, its biggest daily fall for three weeks, after closing 0.1 per cent lower on Wednesday. Miners were the biggest drag on the [...]
British Airways and Iberia merger sends FTSE soaring November 12, 2009 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 hit its highest close in three weeks yesterday as British Airways soared with investors cheered as a merger with Iberia looked imminent, while gains were also powered by strength in banks. But the rise was limited by falls in commodity prices hitting miners and energy stocks, which together constitute a third of [...]
ON THE MEND (OR SO KING HOPES) November 11, 2009 THE BANK of England hiked its growth forecasts for the next three years yesterday in its clearest signal yet that it believes the UKeconomy is finally on the mend. The Bank’s new central projections are for output to grow by 2.1 per cent next year and by four per cent in 2011, based on market [...]
Miners and Vodafone drag but banks offer some cheer November 10, 2009 BRITAIN’S leading share index ticked down 0.1 per cent yesterday, ending a four-day winning run, as weakness in miners and Vodafone offset strength in banks, underpinned by a strong update from HSBC. The FTSE 100 closed 4.63 points lower at 5,230.55, after hitting a two-week high earlier in the session. “After last week’s slew of [...]
Shift to low-carbon economy will boost clean technology prospects October 14, 2009 INVESTING in clean technology used to be perceived as an activity that was primarily the domain of slightly hippy do-gooders with little interest in high-yielding returns. But any lingering misconceptions of tree-huggers and poor returns were swept away earlier this week when billionaire George Soros said he planned to invest $1bn in clean-energy technologies over [...]
Climate body calls on UK to change tack October 12, 2009 BRITAIN needs a “step change” in its environmental policy to meet its own targets, the government’s chief climate change adviser said yesterday. Presenting its first annual report to parliament, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) urged more aggressive intervention in the energy markets. To meet its own target of an 80 per cent reduction in [...]
FTSE100 ends its best ever quarter with profit taking September 30, 2009 THE top share index closed lower yesterday with energy stocks, banks and miners among the biggest laggards on the last session of a record quarter. The FTSE 100 closed down 25.82 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,133.90 as investors locked in profits after the index put in its best quarterly performance since it was [...]
Cut debt, but not yet: CBI September 27, 2009 THE Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will today call for a faster, more aggressive approach to solving Britain’s public debt crisis as it sets out its business recommendations for a new government ahead of next year’s election. CBI deputy director-general John Cridland said the emphasis should be on balancing the government’s books by 2015/16, two [...]