AkzoNobel vows action to boost flagging profit July 21, 2011 DUTCH chemicals group AkzoNobel promised new, unspecified measures to improve its earnings as it reported a 10 per cent drop in second-quarter core profit, hurt by rising costs and weak demand. The world’s biggest paints company was hit by faster-than-expected increases in prices of raw materials such as pigments and oil-related resins and solvents. It [...]
West Ham value rockets following stadium boost February 15, 2011 WEST HAM’S value has doubled following its successful bid to move into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games, according to analysts, and could earn owners David Gold and David Sullivan a joint profit of £120m. The Premier League club was worth just £100m a year ago but its success in securing the 60,000-seater [...]
West Ham value rockets following stadium boost February 14, 2011 WEST HAM’S value has doubled following its successful bid to move into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games, according to analysts, and could earn owners David Gold and David Sullivan a joint profit of £120m. The Premier League club was worth just £100m a year ago but its success in securing the 60,000-seater [...]
UK’s cost of borrowing falls to a record low August 2, 2011 THE British government’s cost of borrowing fell to a record low yesterday, as investors piled into gilts while the Eurozone appeared to lurch towards a fresh sovereign debt crisis. While yields on Spanish and Italian debt spiked above six per cent – breaching the so-called crisis level – traders rushed to buy bonds from supposedly [...]
Poverty of debate is holding us back September 18, 2011 IT is obvious that companies need to work harder to make sure that all their employees deliver the goods. This must apply to everybody, including CEOs, who are hired by shareholders to maximise their value. They should be paid a lot if they do well and fired without massive payoffs if they fail. It should [...]
Economy not rebalancing fast enough September 14, 2011 IT is not good news on the jobs front. Unemployment jumped by 80,000 over the past three months; employment is up by just 24,000 over the past year. The post-recession jobs rebound has ground to a halt. The economy is rebalancing towards the private sector but no longer quickly enough. Private sector employment peaked at [...]
Economy not rebalancing fast enough September 14, 2011 IT is not good news on the jobs front. Unemployment jumped by 80,000 over the past three months; employment is up by just 24,000 over the past year. The post-recession jobs rebound has ground to a halt. The economy is rebalancing towards the private sector but no longer quickly enough. Private sector employment peaked at [...]
BHP Billiton admits rising costs June 23, 2011 BHP Billiton said yesterday that its Worsley bauxite and aluminium project in Australia will cost $135m (£84.4m) more than previously expected, and that first production has been put back a year to the first quarter of 2012. BHP said the $3bn venture is “one of the most complex brownfield projects undertaken”, which has slowed down [...]
BHP Billiton admits rising costs June 23, 2011 BHP Billiton said yesterday that its Worsley bauxite and aluminium project in Australia will cost $135m (£84.4m) more than previously expected, and that first production has been put back a year to the first quarter of 2012. BHP said the $3bn venture is “one of the most complex brownfield projects undertaken”, which has slowed down [...]
US new homes sales fall in June July 26, 2011 New US single-family home sales unexpectedly fell in June, but a sharp rise in prices and declining supply suggested the market for new houses was starting to stabilise, a government report showed. The Commerce Department said sales fell one per cent to a seasonally adjusted 312,000-unit annual rate as sales in the Northeast tumbled to [...]