Strong first half puts Interserve back on track for the full year August 15, 2012 SUPPORT services and construction group Interserve yesterday reported half-year profit of eight per cent driven by strong performance in its British support services business. Pre-tax profit for the firm, whose services range from cleaning Sainsbury’s supermarkets to building Jaguar a new site in Coventry, came in at £32.6m in the six months to 30 June, [...]
FTSE drifts lower as fears over UK’s economic outlook leads to caution September 20, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index wilted yesterday after economic data painted a bleak picture of prospects for a rebound in activity in the United States, Europe and China, heightening concerns over company earnings and valuations. The UK’s FTSE 100 closed down 33.84 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 5,854.64, continuing to edge away from 6-month highs [...]
The reason Cameron is wrong in humiliating energy tariff debacle October 18, 2012 IT IS always disappointing for politicians when a confused announcement turns a popular idea into a communications disaster. George Osborne experienced that pain earlier this year when he announced a freeze in fuel duty and, thanks to the timing, the front pages the next days were about U-turns and not lower taxes. At Prime Minister’s [...]
Should the coalition support Nick Clegg’s plan to set up a state-run bank for lending? August 30, 2012 YES Robert Skidelsky Nick Clegg’s idea for a state-run bank to lend to small enterprises is a step in the right direction, but as usual, the details are missing. At the moment, it sounds like another version of the loan guarantee plans which have already failed to get money flowing. Unlike Germany, Britain does not [...]
CME plans to grab market share with currency futures exchange August 20, 2012 A NEW derivatives exchange is set to break open the dominance of the NYSE Euronext’s Liffe and Deutsche Bourse’s Eurex, industry experts forecast yesterday. CME announced its plans to establish the new exchange by the middle of next year, beginning in foreign exchange futures and potentially expanding into areas including interest rates and metals. It [...]
Swann leaves WH Smith with a vision but no visionary October 11, 2012 UNDER its list of principal risks and uncertainties, yesterday’s WH Smith preliminary results included “reliance on key personnel”. The market agreed: despite a 10 per cent increase in profit before tax and a full-year dividend up 20 per cent, shares dropped sharply on the accompanying news that long-serving chief executive Kate Swann will step down [...]
Fiscal crisis continues to threaten our struggling economy September 25, 2012 IT is hard to disagree with Standard & Poor’s that the Eurozone is likely to see zero growth until 2014. The situation is worsening again, especially in Spain, where the budget crisis is intensifying amid separationist tensions, and in Greece, which could soon be demoted to being an emerging market again by the FTSE. None [...]
What the other papers say this morning August 28, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Vestas in rescue talks with Japanese Vestas, the struggling Danish wind turbine manufacturer, is in rescue talks with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as it seeks to shore up its financial and competitive position. Cost-cutting squads to help hospitals balance the books Teams of cost-cutting experts will be sent into hospitals across the country [...]
Rapid Responses August 15, 2012 Not short changed [Re: Why Boris owes me £90,000 for Olympic damage, yesterday] I couldn’t afford to travel from Florida to go to the Olympics and enjoy all that London and Britain had to offer during that fortnight. The Games are expensive, and London isn’t cheap. However, now the big show is over, I’m inspired [...]
Pension groups want to open up on charges August 23, 2012 CLEAR details on fees and charges on pensions, as well as regular, standard updates on costs are vital if public trust is to be rebuilt in the industry, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said yesterday, calling for a sector-wide agreement on transparency. Millions of new savers are set to build up pension pots for [...]