Mouchel warns on full-year profit as tough conditions hit October 14, 2010 Outsourcer Mouchel yesterday warned full-year profit would be lower than expected after it said it was more cautious about the settlement of some projects amid a harsh business environment. The company, which provides maintenance for highways and handles local government payrolls, said pre-tax profit before exceptionals for the year would be £30.5m. Analysts were, on [...]
France strikes cause chaos October 18, 2010 FRANCE was this morning coming to terms with a sixth day of strikes over President Sarkozy’s plans to raise the retirement age. The nation ground to a halt as train drivers, teachers, hospital staff and utility workers joined the mass protest against Sarkozy’s austerity measures. Fuel pumps were already running dry after week-long strikes at [...]
Spain faces general strike September 26, 2010 Spain was last night braced for a general strike but analysts hope turnout will be low as the country continues to wrestle with its mammoth budget deficit. The mass walk-out is planned for Wednesday but many Spaniards support the austerity measures and are likely to ignore the unions. A poll showed only 18 per cent [...]
Positive PMI boosts sterling November 3, 2010 STRONGER-than-expected figures on the UK service sector yesterday caused the pound to rise to its highest level against the dollar and the euro for nine months and reduced the chances that the Bank of England will opt to engage in a second round of quantitative easing to boost the economy. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI), [...]
IRISH BAILOUT FAILS TO CHEER INVESTORS November 22, 2010 Markets fall and bond yields continue to rise Cowen resists snap election call ahead of budget UK confirms intention to offer £7bn in loans MARKET turmoil failed to subside yesterday in spite of the announcement of a multi-billion euro Irish bailout. As the Irish governing coalition threatened to fall apart and independent MPs said they [...]
IRISH BAILOUT FAILS TO CHEER INVESTORS November 22, 2010 Markets fall and bond yields continue to rise Cowen resists snap election call ahead of budget UK confirms intention to offer £7bn in loans MARKET turmoil failed to subside yesterday in spite of the announcement of a multi-billion euro Irish bailout. As the Irish governing coalition threatened to fall apart and independent MPs said they [...]
BCC voices its concern over the recovery October 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S economic recovery is rapidly running out of steam and the government and the Bank of England will need to take robust action to prevent a double-dip recession, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) will warn today. The BCC’s quarterly economic survey showed that the UK economy slowed considerably in the three months to September [...]
MARKETS | Government Debt July 6, 2010 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOV HEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI OVER the past three months, confidence in a global economic recovery has waned and volatility has risen spectacularly in May. And as we enter the second half of 2010, most asset classes are severely underperforming consensus estimates made at the beginning of the year. Libor (the London inter-bank [...]
MARKETS | Government Debt July 6, 2010 GEORGE TCHETVERTAKOV HEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI OVER the past three months, confidence in a global economic recovery has waned and volatility has risen spectacularly in May. And as we enter the second half of 2010, most asset classes are severely underperforming consensus estimates made at the beginning of the year. Libor (the London inter-bank [...]
Cable: Banks should be wary of handing out lavish bonuses October 25, 2010 BANKS should think twice before paying out lavish bonuses this year and must start to refocus on longer-term investment to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis, business secretary Vince Cable said yesterday. Chancellor George Osborne last week confirmed he would impose a tax on banks’ balance sheets as part of measures to insure the [...]