Not convinced by the Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid? September 16, 2013 TAKE A LOOK AT THESE ALTERNATIVES BMW ActiveHybrid 3 SE, £40,560 A powerful hybrid at its fastest. BMW has combined a 306bhp 3.0-litre turbo petrol engine with an electric motor, so total output is a massive 340bhp. This translates into a 0-62mph time of just 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. Unless you [...]
London Report: Blue chips end higher despite airline plunge September 4, 2013 THE FTSE top 100 steadied yesterday, paring early losses after a stronger open in the United States but dogged by an airline sector weakened by a profit warning from budget carrier Ryanair. The FTSE 100, which had been 0.6 per cent lower at midday, retraced its losses entirely in the first hour of trading on [...]
A hot hatch with big shoes to fill September 3, 2013 It may be nippy, zippy and comfortable too, but can the Peugeot 208 GTI live up to the iconic 205? IS IT fast?” was the first thing my friend Dave said when I pulled up in the new Peugeot 208 GTI. He wasn’t the first to ask either. Peugeot’s designers have done an excellent job [...]
Not Convinced? September 3, 2013 HERE ARE SOME ALTERNATIVES VW Polo GTI 1.4 TSI DSG, £19,570 If you feel nostalgic about the first Golf GTIs, perhaps this Polo GTI is a better option. It’s only got a 1.4-litre engine that delivers just 177bhp, but it still gets up to 142mph and can hit 62mph in 6.9 seconds. It’s a good-looking [...]
Cameron will look back on this vote as a political blessing August 29, 2013 SO THE heir to Blair, who seemed so keen to intervene in Syria, has been stopped in his tracks. Prime Minister David Cameron came home early from his holiday to persuade parliament of the need for action against Syria and in the end received a bloody nose himself. It might not look great for him [...]
London Report: Vodafone talks power rebound for FTSE shares August 29, 2013 BUMPER gains among telecom stocks powered a rebound in UK shares yesterday after Vodafone confirmed it was in talks with Verizon to sell out of its US joint venture. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.82 per cent, or 52.99 points at 6,483.05, bouncing back again after falls over the last two days. Vodafone jumped 8.2 [...]
Best of the Brokers for 22 August 2013 August 21, 2013 J MENZIES Panmure has started covering the publishing distributor and aviation services group with a ‘buy’ rating and 877p target. The broker thinks the shares will benefit from aviation growth. BHP BILLITON UBS reiterates its ‘buy’ rating and raises its target price to 2,180p on the natural resources firm. The broker remains keen on the [...]
BHP Billiton pins long term hopes on potash plans as earnings fall August 20, 2013 FTSE 100-listed BHP Billiton’s shares dropped over three per cent in early trading yesterday, after the miner unveiled a 16 per cent decline in full-year earnings. Underlying earnings fell to $28.4bn (£18.1bn) and revenue dropped by 8.7 per cent to $66bn for the year ended 30 June, hit by dwindling commodity prices and a slowdown [...]
Bottom Line: Mining shares set for rollercoaster ride August 20, 2013 AS EVER, mining stocks yesterday gave a pretty clear picture of how investors were feeling. But this time – in addition to the ever-present spectre of Fed uncertainty and slowdown in Chinese material demands – there were more tangible reasons for their concern. BHP Billiton and Glencore Xstrata fell 1.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent [...]
London Report: Weak earnings reports fuel drop in FTSE shares August 20, 2013 BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower yesterday as gloomy earnings reports fuelled profit-taking on some basic material and energy stocks and investors cut positions in expectation of less US monetary stimulus. Shares in miners BHP Billiton and Glencore Xstrata fell 1.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively as the former announced a lower-than-expected profit [...]