LONDON REPORT July 15, 2012 A SLEW of company results this week culminates with a busy Thursday, when retail giant Sports Direct, Halfords, Kingfisher and Mothercare are all set to update the market. Accountancy software maker Sage is set to give an interim management statement today, which will be followed with a Capital Market Day for investors tomorrow. Panmure Gordon [...]
WALL ST THE WEEK AHEAD July 15, 2012 INVESTORS are looking at an onslaught this week. If it’s not corporate earnings, it’s Ben Bernanke talking about economic issues before Congress. Recent warnings from a number of companies, including chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, helped drag the S&P 500 lower for six straight days before a Friday rebound. The S&P 500 and Dow erased losses [...]
Lost in translation: The often tortuous trials of selling-up July 15, 2012 IT WAS depressing: the business was making continual losses. We’d tried everything we could think of, but nothing seemed to work. We’d made many mistakes and had an unfair share of bad luck. We reached a decision: find a buyer and sell it. The business was fundamentally sound, so in the right hands it had [...]
Anti-finance hate has gone too far July 15, 2012 WHEN a teacher commits a crime, people don’t question the legitimacy of education. And when a doctor breaks the law – and the Hippocratic oath – people don’t suggest that there is something inherently corrupting about giving people the power to save lives. Yet different standards are applied to finance. Far too many commentators take [...]
FTSE sees biggest daily fall in three weeks as fears over economy grow July 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped in weak volume yesterday to post its biggest daily fall in nearly three weeks as growth concerns and fading hopes for near-term US monetary stimulus hit investor sentiment. Minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s June meeting, released overnight, suggested the central bank would be prepared to give stimulus through a [...]
Technology shares push Wall St lower July 12, 2012 US stocks edged lower yesterday, led by technology shares, while diminished chances of monetary stimulus from major central banks prompted investors to shy away from risky assets. The Dow briefly moved into positive territory in sync with Procter & Gamble’s advance, with the blue-chip average bouncing off technical support at 12,500, analysts said. The S&P [...]
Uncertainty over global economy and corporates sees FTSE end flat July 11, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index ended flat in low volume yesterday, with investors uncertain about the future path for equities due to concerns over global growth and corporate earnings. The FTSE 100 was up 0.41 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 5,664.48, having swung in a 50 point arc during the session, on volume of less [...]
Fifth straight day of decline for the Dow July 11, 2012 THE DOW and the Nasdaq lost ground yesterday as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed policymakers are open to the idea of more economic stimulus, but that conditions might need to worsen first. The S&P 500 ended unchanged, breaking a four-day losing streak, after paring losses into the close. Technology and industrials led [...]
In sickness and in health: An illness won’t ruin your career July 11, 2012 ANTONIO Horta-Osorio has been back as chief executive of Lloyds Bank since January. His absence began in November 2011, and was famously attributed to exhaustion caused by the pressures of his job. His is a reassuring story – a successful executive, overcome by poor health, could reveal it to colleagues and return to his previous [...]
