FirstGroup on track despite £7m snow bill January 13, 2011 THE UK’s largest rail operator FirstGroup said it was on track yesterday to hit its earnings and cash targets for the year, with 2010 results in line with expectations. The upbeat outlook comes despite the company’s statement that snow disruption to its UK bus and rail networks made a £7m dent in profits in December. Both of [...]
European stocks drop as UK and Spain falter January 25, 2011 EUROPEAN shares fell yesterday, as confidence in Britain was shaken by an unexpected drop in fourth-quarter UK growth figures and with Spanish banks down on concerns new capital requirement rules may not be tough enough. Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank 0.5 per cent in the last three months of last year, the first quarterly drop since [...]
Japanese GDP appears weak as year closes December 5, 2010 JAPAN’s prospects for recovery will be clearer this week, with expected data releases on lending, machinery orders and consumer confidence. And on Thursday the growth level for the third quarter of the year may be revised. The first estimate said the Japanese economy expanded by 0.9 per cent in the three months to September, yet [...]
Fed at war over fresh stimulus August 9, 2011 THE FEDERAL Reserve last night pledged to keep US interest rates at their “exceptionally low levels” until at least mid-2013, in a bid to stimulate the ailing US recovery. Yet three dissenters broke ranks from chairman Ben Bernanke (pictured) and his senior colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee. Richard Fisher, Narayana Kocherlakota, and Charles [...]
The trials of Jobs August 25, 2011 Steve Jobs’ shock resignation was followed by the inevitable panic. Jumpy investors piled out of Apple stock, knocking $25bn from its market cap, most of which was soon recouped. But it will be months and years, not days and weeks, until the effects of his loss become clear. A man of his talent and vision [...]
The trials of Jobs August 25, 2011 Steve Jobs’ shock resignation was followed by the inevitable panic. Jumpy investors piled out of Apple stock, knocking $25bn from its market cap, most of which was soon recouped. But it will be months and years, not days and weeks, until the effects of his loss become clear. A man of his talent and vision [...]
Carpetright profit tumbles 28 per cent December 14, 2010 Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, posted a 28 per cent drop in first-half profit as sales were dented by weak consumer confidence and sluggish mortgage approvals. The firm, which runs 584 stores in the UK and Ireland and 118 in The Netherlands and Belgium, made an underlying pretax profit of £10m in the 26 weeks [...]
Carpetright profit tumbles 28 per cent December 14, 2010 Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, posted a 28 per cent drop in first-half profit as sales were dented by weak consumer confidence and sluggish mortgage approvals. The firm, which runs 584 stores in the UK and Ireland and 118 in The Netherlands and Belgium, made an underlying pretax profit of £10m in the 26 weeks [...]
CSR provokes consumer fears November 29, 2010 CONSUMER confidence in the UK tumbled in November, according to European Commission (EC) data released yesterday. The indicator dropped to an 18-month low of -18.4. The news comes as a surprise after recent figures showed a boom in retail sales shooting upwards. The EC findings were “undoubtedly the consequence” of the coalition’s spending review, according [...]
CSR provokes consumer fears November 29, 2010 CONSUMER confidence in the UK tumbled in November, according to European Commission (EC) data released yesterday. The indicator dropped to an 18-month low of -18.4. The news comes as a surprise after recent figures showed a boom in retail sales shooting upwards. The EC findings were “undoubtedly the consequence” of the coalition’s spending review, according [...]