FTSE 100 to be free of all-male boards by the end of 2014 May 20, 2014 Responding to shareholder pressure at its annual general meeting today, Glencore Xstrata chairman Tony Hayward has pledged to appoint a female director to its board by the end of the year. In March this year, the 2014 Cranfield Female FTSE board report found that two FTSE 100 companies still had all-male boards: miners Antofagasta and [...]
Real wages could resume fall as “Easter effect” sees inflation jump to 1.8pc May 20, 2014 We've only had a month of confirmed real wage growth. Now a sharp increase in inflation this April threatens to see us returning to falling real pay packets. Figures from the Office for National Statistics today show inflation up from 1.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent in the year to April. An increase had [...]
Why the US labour market is starting to tear away from its Canadian peer May 19, 2014 Things are taking off in US employment growth. A Bank of America Merrill Lynch report published today highlights a widening gap between the labour market of the US and neighbouring Canada. Analysts note that the most recent monthly non-farm payroll data from each country looks strikingly different. Canada saw payrolls fall by 28,900 in a [...]
Guns and butter: UK’s weapons and ammunition turnover drops by 30pc May 19, 2014 The trade-off in British manufacturing is clear. Less guns, more everything else. Turnover of UK weapons and ammunition production has dropped by 29.6 per cent in the three months to March on the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. That's the biggest such fall in turnover seen across any of [...]
Why a successful Pfizer bid for AstraZeneca isn’t completely off the table May 19, 2014 The rejection of a £55-a-share offer by Pfizer for AstraZeneca has led a few market watchers to suggest that any chance of a deal has now evaporated. But while AstraZeneca shares have fallen, by around 14 per cent, stock in the pharmaceutical company hasn't settled back to where it was before Pfizer's initial approach. It [...]
This week’s must-see charts: Indian elections, Abenomics and more May 16, 2014 India’s election, Japan’s dismal prospects, Scottish independence polls, and the a possible weakening of the euro. We bring you some of our favourite analysts' picks of the most important graphs this week. Alex Dryden, analyst at JP Morgan Asset Management This week’s chart looks at the market reaction to the appointment of reformist Narendra Modi [...]
AstraZeneca shares drop over 1pc as Pfizer halted on NYSE May 16, 2014 Shares of the US drugmaker Pfizer were halted in New York, shortly after 12pm local time. Trading was stopped after the company announced that it to submit a new drug application to US regulators. Palbociclib is an oreal medication, intended as a treatment for breast cancer. With traders still waiting on news of a possible [...]
Bank of England abandoned car: Driver arrested over “unconnected matter” May 16, 2014 The driver of the black car abandoned outside the Bank of England in central London yesterday has been arrested by Metropolitan Police. The 34 year-old man has been identified by police as the driver of the vehicle and was arrested yesterday afternoon. He has been arrested over an unconnected matter, said police. A spokesman told [...]
What will Narendra Modi’s election win mean for the Indian economy? May 16, 2014 Widely touted as the pro-growth option in India's most recent election, newly crowned winner Narendra Modi has been celebrated by investors. Indian stocks have jumped on what appears to be a landslide victory, with the BSE Sensex pushing to record highs this morning as it became apparent that the man touted as India's most business [...]
The Bank of England’s latest hire literally wrote the paper on the trade-off between growth and equality May 15, 2014 The arrival of US economist Kristin Forbes at the Bank of England is a huge win for the institution. With it, it's picked up one of the hottest properties in academia, with a near unrivalled knowledge of financial contagion and capital flows. She'll be the Monetary Policy Committee's first female member in five years when [...]