MITIE announces a good start to the financial year August 12, 2013 Strategic outsourcing company MITIE has said it has had a good start to the financial year with a “growing order book” and a “strong pipeline of sales opportunities” (release). In its interim management statement for the period 1 April 2013 to date, MITIE said it had secured 89 per cent of budgeted revenues for this [...]
French central bank reports reduced net outflow for June August 12, 2013 The Banque de France has reported the net outflow of current transactions into and out of France in June fell to a €1.4bn (£1.2bn) in June from a revised €3.5bn (down from €4.1bn). This was primarily down to a reduction in the trade deficit in goods, which fell to €3.9bn from €5.9bn.
Before the open – 12/08 August 12, 2013 The Nikkei fell to a six-week low closing down 0.7 per cent while the yen strengthened on the back of weaker than expected second quarter GDP data this morning. However, the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng both jumped over 1.5 per cent as factory output topped forecasts after last Friday's close. Output grew by [...]
Taylor Wimpey announces refinancing of credit facility ahead of schedule August 12, 2013 UK housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey has announced it has completed the refinancing of its revolving credit facitility, due to mature in November next year, with a new revolving credit facility for £550m, which will mature in August 2018. Revolving credit facilities are a type of credit issued without a predetermined number of payments, usually used [...]
Nikkei falls on weak GDP data, raises questions about sales tax hike August 12, 2013 Source: Yahoo The Nikkei fell to a six-week low last night as the Cabinet Office revealed the economy grew by a weaker than expected 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, down from 1.0 per cent the quarter before. Analysts had expected a slight drop to 0.9 per cent. This means the full year GDP [...]
Any Other Business – 12/08 August 11, 2013 ■ If you’ve ever fancied your own private jet, now would be the perfect time to buy. According to business aircraft manufacturer Beechcraft, 20.8 per cent of the light and midsized private jet market in the UK is currently up for sale, with 19 per cent on the market across Europe. Anything over 10 per [...]
Worst week ever for US Treasuries August 9, 2013 US Treasuries had their worst week ever on Wednesday as investors pulled out a record $4bn from bond funds, equivalent to 1.3 per cent of assets under management (AUM). Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett called it the “Great Rotation”, referring to the expectation that record-low bond yields will push investors [...]
Zimbabwe opposition party to challenge Mugabe election win August 9, 2013 Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party has filed a legal challenge contesting Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF electoral win in Zimbabwe last week. Historically, few rulings have been made in the MDC-T’s favour and the courts are often accused of being partisan. Mugabe won the election with 61 per cent of the vote giving him another five year term [...]
UBS pays $120m to settle Lehman allegations August 9, 2013 UBS has agreed to pay $120m (£77m) to settle a lawsuit regarding the misleading of investors about the financial state of Lehman Brothers. The settlement will resolve a five year litigation battle regarding the selling of nearly $1bn of Lehman structured notes between March 2007 and September 2008 when Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection. Earlier [...]
M&S Energy rebounds from mis-selling accusations launching cheapest deal on the market August 9, 2013 M&S energy has launched the cheapest energy deal on the market, just days after hitting the headlines for alleged energy mis-selling. The Fix & Save plan comes in at £1,139 per year, and protects customers from price hikes until the end of September 2014. There is, however, a cancellation fee of £50 before this end [...]