World’s largest paint maker sees stock plummet after issuing profit warning June 27, 2011 AKZONOBEL, the world’s largest paint company, warned yesterday that core second-quarter profit will fall due to a sharp rise in raw material prices and weak demand in key European and US construction markets. The profit warning sent AkzoNobel shares tumbling to their lowest level since December and weighed on other chemical producers such as Clariant, [...]
UK oil industry welcomes Treasury tax change July 5, 2011 The UK oil and gas industry welcomed a government move to raise the threshold for a tax break to support companies’ exploration and development in the North Sea. The Treasury has said it will increase the annual rate of its Ring Fence Expenditure Supplement, an accounting tool that allows companies to increase their taxable income, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES INSURERS TO FUND POLICE TEAM IN FRAUD CRACKDOWN Insurers are to spend £8.2m funding a specialist police unit that will be dedicated to cracking down on the growing problem of insurance fraud, which costs an estimated £2bn a year. A new unit of 35 specialist fraud detectives and police support staff will be [...]
FTSE buoyed by US debt deal August 1, 2011 The FTSE 100 tracked global markets upwards as investors were buoyed by the breaking of the deadlock over US debt. As President Obama announced that the Democrats and Republicans had finally reached an agreement over raising the country’s debt ceiling Asian markets responded positively. Investors piled back into riskier stocks and abandoned gold as the [...]
Mayor backs £600m bond for Crossrail July 3, 2011 THE Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a £600m bond to finance the construction of Crossrail. Issuing the bond will help the Greater London Authority (GLA) fund its £4.1bn investment in the £14.8bn project to build the new rail link, which will connect east and west parts of the capital. London will be the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LI & FUNG UPBEAT OVER THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Li & Fung, the Hong Kong-headquartered sourcing company for retailers such as Walmart and Debenhams, sounded an upbeat note on Thursday, asserting that business conditions were “not at all” like those in 2008”, despite the current uncertainty over prospects for the global economy. Bruce Rockowitz, [...]
Fresh, organic and utterly perfect July 25, 2011 Roganic 19 Blandford Street, W1U 3DH Tel: 0207 4860380 www.roganic.co.uk FOOD ***** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £55 or £80 WHERE to start with Roganic? It could be with the bad pun of a name, or the temporary nature of the place, or the exalted Lake District restaurant which begat this [...]
Mouchel warns on tough economy June 15, 2011 Business services group Mouchel has said recent tough trading conditions would likely continue over the coming months as many of its clients slash budgets and UK government cost cutting measures kick in. “The short-term outlook for the group continues to be very challenging and is heavily influenced by the steps the coalition government is taking [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SINO-FOREST DELAYS PUBLICATION OF FRAUD REVIEW Sino-Forest, the Chinese forestry company fighting allegations of fraud, has delayed publication of its internal review into claims made by research outfit Muddy Waters that triggered a collapse in the company’s share price in June. An independent committee has presented an interim report to Sino-Forest’s board but [...]
Eurozone crisis is set to engulf Italy July 11, 2011 SLOWLY but surely, the Eurozone crisis is escalating. There is no longer a “risk” of contagion – it is already here, big time. Forget about Greece – and even Portugal. The European and UK economies would just about survive their default. The real nightmare would be if Italy or Spain were also to hit the [...]