MORE QE ON THE CARDS TO BOLSTER UK November 1, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COMthe release of stronger-than-expected US GDP data last week and favourable confidence numbers from the eurozone highlight the position of the UK as being one of the weakest economies in the G10. There is a strong chance that this week’s Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting will bring yet another [...]
Financial services sector has a key role for climate change December 6, 2009 The world’s eyes will turn to Copenhagen today as policy makers from across the globe gather for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. They are faced with a huge – some would say almost impossible – challenge. Achieving any meaningful agreement on the successor to the Kyoto treaty will require bridging national agendas as far [...]
RadioShack beats Wall St forecasts October 26, 2009 ELECTRONICS chain RadioShack yesterday posted third-quarter sales that topped Wall Street expectations, helped by its push into mobile phones, sending its shares up 16 per cent to a year high. Net sales totaled $990m (£606m), well ahead of average Wall Street forecasts of $961.7m. While profit was slightly below estimates, falling to $37.4m from $49.1m, [...]
Quality brands are becoming more popular again June 16, 2009 FOR a while we saw the march of the “value” brands, as the recession helped Aldi and co make advances on their more expensive rivals. The graph shows what actually happened to brand values. We have created two baskets of brands – seven associated with lower-end or “value-for-money’ (Aldi, Morrisons, Primark, Matalan, RyanAir, Walls, Subway), [...]
Shrinking economy shakes market but Wolseley grows June 30, 2009 WEAKER than expected consumer confidence figures in the US drove some shares lower yesterday, with banks, miners and food retailers leading the fallers. The FTSE 100 shed one per cent, or 44.82 points, to close at 4,249.21. But the index is up 8.2 per cent on the quarter, the best such performance since the final [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW DO YOU FEEL IN LIGHT OF HSBC BOSS MICHAEL GEOGHEGAN’S WARNING OF A DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION? October 5, 2009 PATRICK CROSS THOMSON REUTERS“We’re definitely heading into a recovery, technically speaking, but it is unwise to get too confident, too soon. Consumers need evidence of improvement before they’ll head out to the shops. A double-dip recession is a possibility, if confidence doesn’t rise.”JEREMY LEIVERS HALLIWELLS“We could certainly see a double dip, but the second slump [...]
Crude oil to spike higher over the next 12 months December 14, 2009 UNTIL the start of this month crude oil had been trading in a tight range between $75 and $80. But those commodity analysts who argued that the price of a barrel of oil did not justify its supply and demand fundamentals will be feeling rather smug right now. Since the start of December, crude oil [...]
Rosy services data boosts UK prospects November 4, 2009 STRONG growth in Britain’s services sector added to the more upbeat mood prevailing in the UK yesterday, ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision. The CIPS/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) yesterday showed the headline business activity index surge to 56.9 in October above 55.3 in September and beating the consensus forecast of [...]
Rosy services data boosts UK prospects November 4, 2009 STRONG growth in Britain’s services sector added to the more upbeat mood prevailing in the UK yesterday, ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision. The CIPS/Markit services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) yesterday showed the headline business activity index surge to 56.9 in October above 55.3 in September and beating the consensus forecast of [...]
Sales jump at Halfords on bike lift October 8, 2009 THE boom in commuter cycling and stay-at-home holidaymakers yesterday boosted Halfords as it reported sales growth for the successive quarter. The bike, camping products and car maintenance retailer yesterday reported sales rose by 3.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to last Friday. And like-for-like sales made a 2.2 per cent jump, up from a [...]