Uncertainty hangs over Japan in wake of quake March 14, 2011 THE Great Kanto earthquake struck Japan in 1923, killing over 100,000 people. In consequence, one day every September, children train for the next earthquake. Tragically, last Friday that training was once again put to use. On Monday, the Nikkei index slumped 6.18 per cent, with the prospect of further falls over the coming days. Sentiment [...]
Ingersoll-Rand disappoints February 9, 2011 INGERSOLL-RAND, a maker of cooling systems and security technology, yesterday reported lower-than-expected quarterly earnings and issued a weak profit forecast. Ingersoll, which also makes industrial compressors, faces slow commercial construction markets and rising costs for raw materials that are increasingly offsetting the margin boost from recent deep cost-cutting. In the fourth quarter, Ingersoll earned $212.1m [...]
Diamond: low returns will be banished February 15, 2011 BARCLAYS chief executive Bob Diamond promised rigorous action to bring up the bank’s returns at its full-year results presentation yesterday, saying that “there are no sacred cows” in his cost-cutting. Diamond was keen to address the bank’s “unacceptable” return on equity of 7.2 per cent in 2010, announcing a target of 13 per cent by [...]
Bernanke dismisses oil price threat as US recovery rolls on March 1, 2011 SOARING oil prices pose only a “temporary” threat to inflation, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. The dollar, tumbling to a three and a half month low against the euro, received little support from Bernanke’s testimony to the Senate’s banking committee, in which he showed no inclination of a move towards monetary tightening. “The [...]
Bernanke dismisses oil price threat as US recovery rolls on March 1, 2011 SOARING oil prices pose only a “temporary” threat to inflation, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said yesterday. The dollar, tumbling to a three and a half month low against the euro, received little support from Bernanke’s testimony to the Senate’s banking committee, in which he showed no inclination of a move towards monetary tightening. “The [...]
Sustainable home design calls January 24, 2011 Sustainable design could help ease the UK’s growing housing crisis by replacing traditional building methods with more cost effective processes, a new research report claims. The report, commissioned by RICS, into the future of UK house building found that construction rates were currently around 80,000 new homes below the required level to meet population growth [...]
Osborne rips up planning rules March 3, 2011 GEORGE Osborne is pushing for sweeping changes to Britain’s planning regime as part of a package of low-cost measures designed to kick-start growth, City A.M. has learned. He wants to make it much easier for companies to obtain planning consent for new projects – even if they go against the wishes of local residents – [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 24, 2011 HENDERSON Morgan Stanley rates the asset manager “overweight” with a target price of 200p. The broker believes that the market has underestimated the cost synergies of the firm’s tie-up with Gartmore, and believes Henderson can retain around 85 per cent of assets once the deal is complete. It adds that Henderson’s full-year results were inline [...]
Going private in the Maldives, at long last March 24, 2011 For years, the Indian Ocean’s most exquisite islands, the Maldives, have been solely the preserve of hotels. Now, they’ve begun to open up to foreign buyers, thanks to new laws introduced by the pro-enterprise President Mohamed Nasheed. Before Nasheed, elected two years ago, leaseholds were too short to attract European buyers – but they have [...]
Strong order book and growing cash positions put Balfour Beatty on target January 13, 2011 CONSTRUCTION firm Balfour Beatty is on target to meet its 2010 performance targets, the company said in a trading update yesterday. Balfour said that both its cash reserves and order book were in a strong position, with average cash in the second half of 2010 up to £400m from £342m the year before. The company’s [...]