FTSE flat as ECB pours in more funds February 29, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat this morning with investors awaiting another injection of cash from the European Central Bank, aimed at propping up the Eurozone. The ECB is expected to pump about 500bn euros (£422bn) into the Eurozone’s financial system to fight the region’s debt crisis, enabling banks to tap as many of the ultra-cheap, [...]
CRH bullish as its profits beat forecast February 28, 2012 BUILDING materials group CRH said yesterday that full-year profits came in ahead of forecasts for its debut results as a FTSE 100 company. CRH said the outlook for 2012 is positive despite rising energy costs and a weaker economic picture in Europe. The Irish company is strong in the US, where it is the major [...]
The energy policy paradox: cheap tariffs for the savvy mean higher bills for most February 26, 2012 AT A time when energy bills are soaring, many families will be angry that British Gas reported profits last week of over £500m. It follows the news ten days ago that EDF’s profits rose to almost £1.6bn and announcements from the other “Big Six” energy firms are due in the coming weeks. But politicians and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES US CORPORATES SHY TO OFFER GUIDANCE US companies are more uncertain about the future than at any point since the financial crisis, with just one in five of the country’s biggest corporations making any predictions as they published fourth-quarter results. TRANSOCEAN WILL NOT PROPOSE A DIVIDEND Shares in Transocean, the owner of the [...]
US inflation rises February 17, 2012 US petrol prices jumped 0.9 per cent in January, pushing overall consumer prices up at their fastest pace in four months and offering a reminder of the risks energy costs could pose to the economic recovery. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 per cent, according to figures from the Labor Department is unlikely to ring [...]
Inflation drops to 3.6pc February 14, 2012 British inflation fell sharply in January, supporting Bank of England forecasts for a hefty decline in 2012, after a rise in sales tax a year earlier dropped out of the data, official figures showed on Tuesday. The Office for National Statistics said that consumer price inflation fell to 3.6 per cent in January from 4.2 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 12, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CHINA TELLS BANKS TO ROLL OVER LOANS China has instructed its banks to embark on a mammoth roll-over of loans to local governments, delaying the country’s reckoning with debts that have clouded its economic prospects. China’s stimulus response to the global financial crisis saddled its provinces and cities with Rmb10.7tn (£1.08tn) in debts [...]
FTSE rises as Greece closes in on deal January 31, 2012 The FTSE 100 rose in early trading on hopes Greece was nearing a debt swap deal required to salvage the nation’s finances while European leaders agreed on stricter budget discipline measures to help prevent further debt disasters in the region. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said negotiators had made “significant progress” in talks to strike [...]
Mitie trading in line as solid order book fuels confidence January 30, 2012 OUTSOURCING and energy specialist Mitie said revenues and earnings had come in line with expectations in a trading update yesterday. The FTSE 250-listed company said its private sector client sales were strong, having sealed recent deals with insurers Friends Life and LV=. In the public sector it said there were still contracts being won despite [...]
It’s a fix: Coalition plans for Britain’s energy market are likely to boost fuel poverty January 24, 2012 OVER twenty years since Britain laid the groundwork for electricity privatisation and delivered the most liberalised electricity market in the world, the coalition’s new energy “market” reforms will artificially fix the price of electricity in an effort to support more wind energy and kick-start the building of new nuclear power stations. Top-down controls will distort [...]