Poor Japanese data hits US stocks August 17, 2009 US stocks suffered their worst loss in seven weeks yesterday as weak data from Japan and a disappointing outlook from retailer Lowe’s dampened hopes about the economy’s growth. Japan’s gross domestic product showed its economy pulled out of recession in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than expected, prompting a sell-off in major [...]
Amey set for a record breaking year in slump August 16, 2009 AMEY, the Spanish-owned group helping to upgrade the London Underground, said it is on course to make £2bn in revenue for the year, clearing the way to become one of the 10 biggest construction groups operating in the UK. Sales went up to around £1.5bn last year, Amey said in a report filed to Companies [...]
IT’S A ROCKY ROAD AHEAD FOR RECOVERY August 16, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR,FOREX.COM FOLLOWING a pullback in early July, the S&P 500 has forged ahead this summer, lifted both by a round of earnings reports in which over 70 per cent of US companies beat estimates and some better news on the global economy. The rally in stocks has coincided with a rally in other [...]
The $100m trader in the sights of pay tsar August 16, 2009 British-born Citigroup trader Andrew Hall is fighting to hold on to a $100m (£61m) payout as the US government’s “pay tsar” prepares to cut Wall Street bonuses. The Obama administration’s head of financial services compensation, Kenneth Feinberg, will this week begin to study the pay of the top 25 earners in US banks. One White [...]
Aegon unveils surprise loss and cash call August 13, 2009 AEGON, the Dutch insurer, yesterday reported a surprise loss in the second quarter and said it would ask markets for up to €1bn (£862m) to pay off part of its government bailout. The group, whose Aegon UK arm has two million customers across its life, pensions and asset management operations, saw its Dutch shares plummet [...]
FORGET CANNES: CANARY WHARF’S FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO TOWN August 12, 2009 CANARY Wharfers should dust off their finery: there’s a film festival coming to town. OK, so it’s not quite Cannes – there’ll be no red carpet, much to the disappointment of preen-happy financiers, and designer dresses and tuxes are far from obligatory. But the Canary Wharf Film Festival, taking place between 3 and 7 September, [...]
Grainger: Property sector is over the worst of the slump August 12, 2009 GRAINGER, the residential property developer, yesterday added its voice to the growing number of firms who think the worst of the slump could be over, after it reported a rise in house sales turnover. Grainger, which has around £3bn of assets under management, said tough trading conditions in the residential sales market had eased in [...]
FORGET CANNES: CANARY WHARF’S FILM FESTIVAL IS COMING TO TOWN August 12, 2009 CANARY Wharfers should dust off their finery: there’s a film festival coming to town. OK, so it’s not quite Cannes – there’ll be no red carpet, much to the disappointment of preen-happy financiers, and designer dresses and tuxes are far from obligatory. But the Canary Wharf Film Festival, taking place between 3 and 7 September, [...]
Sky Digital Media terminates sales contracts with 23 sports websites August 12, 2009 BSkyB’s digital sales house said yesterday that it will stop selling ads for 23 third-party sports sites as it moves to focus its resources on increasing revenues. The sites due to be terminated comprise mainly of small rugby, gymnastics and niche fan sites, and make up just 1.8 per cent of Sky Digital Media’s (SDM) [...]
Are you more optimistic about the construction sector? August 10, 2009 MARK HOWSON RBS“Morgan Sindall’s update has provided some good news in the shape of heightened enquiries in the fit out business going forward as the lack of readily available Grade A properties starts to see the fit out market perk up. Property agents will be wanting to tart up properties to achieve faster sales. But [...]