PRICE OF LOVE RUNS HIGH FOR ST VALENTINE February 7, 2011 WITH heart-strewn cards and lavish bouquets lining the shelves of the City’s shops, it seems even the most business-focused of postcodes can’t escape the romantic distractions of St Valentine’s Day. So it’s lucky that bonus season is in full flow, as the VAT hike and inflation combine to push the expected Valentine spend up from [...]
EDF hikes its energy prices February 3, 2011 Energy supplier EDF said it will hike its prices yesterday, with electricity bills rising by 7.5 per cent and gas by 6.5 per cent. The firm is the last of the UK’s big suppliers to introduce higher prices, which will come into effect on 2 March. EDF has blamed rising wholesale costs for the increase. [...]
Nippon steel tie up will be world’s no. 2 February 3, 2011 JAPAN’S Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries plan to merge to create the world’s second-largest steelmaker in an effort to fend off tough competition from Asian rivals and offset shrinking demand from domestic automakers. The deal, which would likely see Japan’s top steelmaker Nippon Steel acquiring Sumitomo Metal, comes as the industry grapples with surging [...]
Fixed-price supplies help Dow boost revenue despite rising energy costs February 3, 2011 DOW Chemical barely blinked at rallying energy costs in the fourth quarter as it tapped fixed-cost supplies from the Middle East and boosted customer pricing by 10 per cent. The largest US chemical maker effectively dodged $685m in higher costs for crude and natural gas, the building blocks for many of the paints and plastics [...]
Manufacturing grows at record pace February 1, 2011 Manufacturing activity grew in January at its fastest pace since records began in 1992, and factory costs also surged, in a further sign that price pressures are building in the economy, a survey showed. Employment in the manufacturing sector also rose at the quickest pace since the records began. The Markit/CIPS manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index [...]
Pain must always come before gain January 27, 2011 CREDIT rating agencies have come in for a lot of flak, not least in this newspaper, but yesterday they proved that they can still tell the Emperor it has no clothes. The downgrade of Japan’s credit came as a stark reminder that government debt will be the new sub-prime. It certainly ought to serve as [...]
German facing accelerating inflation January 27, 2011 German consumer prices have risen at their fastest pace since October 2008 this month, data has shown, offering early signs that inflation in the eurozone may be high enough to concern the European Central Bank. EU-harmonised prices (HICP) grew two per cent year on year in January compared with 1.9 per cent in December. The [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 25, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RUSSIANS PREPARE FOR LISTING SPREE IN LONDON Four industrial and mining companies from Russia are set to list in London within the next few weeks, the first in a string of companies from the country rushing to raise an estimated $15bn-$20bn (£9.5bn-£12.7bn) this year. The companies are taking advantage of a narrow window [...]
Wall Street finishes flat after late buying January 25, 2011 US stocks erased losses in a late flurry of buying to end little changed yesterday as overall optimism about earnings offset disappointing results from blue chips 3M and Johnson & Johnson. About 70 per cent of S&P companies so far have beaten estimates, but worries about inflation cutting into profits have caused investors to jump [...]
US retail sales back to annual growth January 14, 2011 SALES at US retailers in 2010 reversed two years of contraction and posted the biggest gain in more than a decade, a government report showed. Retail sales rose 0.6 per cent in December, slightly less than expected, but the growth was still the sixth straight month of growth, the Commerce Department said. And total sales [...]