Europe revises down British growth forecast

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

The European Commission has revised down its forecast for British growth this
year, but kept its predictions for the European Union unchanged despite the
mounting Greece debt crisis.

In its interim forecasts for 2010, the Commission changed its predictions for
GDP growth from 0.9 per cent to 0.6 per cent.

Read more

JP Morgan suspends analyst after Asda ‘ruse’

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

JP Morgan has suspended an analyst amid accusations that he deceitfully gained access to a meeting Asda held with suppliers.
Rickin Thakrar, a food retail analyst at the investment bank, wrote an explosive 14-page research note with information gained from a suppliers meeting held last week, despite having allegedly been struck off from the delegate list by the organisers.
In his note Mr Thakrar wrote: “On Thursday, we attended the Asda IGD trade briefing.” People close to the situation are examining whether Mr Thakrar sent a junior colleague after IGD, the food industry researcher that organised the event, banned him from attending the supplier-only meeting.
JP Morgan declined to comment last night. But it is understood to be investigating whether Mr Thakrar broke any Financial Services Authority or in-house rules in gaining intelligence from the meeting. Mr Tharkar could not be reached for comment.

Read more

BNP Paribas bankers share €500m bonus pool

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

BNP Paribas will pay its 4,000 bankers €500 million (£434.7 million) in
bonuses after France’s biggest lender beat profit forecasts during the
fourth quarter.

Staff in London and Paris will , on average, earn a €125,000 bonus for 2009,
less than under the €1 billion bonus pool proposed last year by BNP Paribas
which was forced to halve compensation following pressure from French
President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Read more

Japan quashes optimism despite GDP rise

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.

Japan’s economy grew faster-than-expected in the fourth quarter with a
stimulus-fuelled rebound in domestic demand and corporate investment.

Growth of 1.1 per cent between October and December, compared to the third
quarter of 2009, was the fastest since a 1.3 per cent expansion between
April and June 2009 and translated into an annualised rise of 4.6 per cent,
beating a 3.7 per cent forecast.

Read more

Cluff Gold likely to shine

Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.



By Garry White


Published: 9:30PM GMT 13 Feb 2010

Cluff Gold

62.3p

Read more

Exxon Mobil sees drop in profits

US oil giant Exxon Mobil has reported a 23% drop in profits, but the result was better than many analysts had expected.Exxon made a net profit of $6.05bn (£3.8bn) in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with the $7.82bn it made in the same period in 2008. Weak demand for fuel in the global economic slowdown hurt the company’s refining business. In the whole of 2009, Exxon made a profit of £19.28bn, less than half of what it made in 2008. Shares in Exxon Mobil rose 1.9% to $65.67 when trading began in New York. Last week, Chevron reported a 37% drop in quarterly profit. Fellow oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell also have figures out later this week. Better productionExxon said exploration and capital spending rose by 4% in 2009. “Our financial strength provided us with the foundation to continue investing in new energy supplies to help meet global energy demand and to fuel economic growth,” said Exxon chairman Rex Tillerson. “Capital and exploration spending was $27.1bn in 2009, another record year, and in line with our longer-term plan.” Oil and gas production increased nearly 2% in the fourth quarter, which was better than some analysts had forecast, while revenues rose 6% to $89.84bn. “The two things I like to see drive an earnings beat are better production and better margins,” said Phil Weiss, oil analyst at Argus Research. “They certainly got the production.”

Print Sponsor



Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Britain emerges from recession, but only just

By Martin Evans


Published: 10:39AM GMT 26 Jan 2010

After almost two years of consecutive contraction, data released by the Office
for National Statistics, confirmed that the UK economy had finally begun to
expand.

But the 0.1 per cent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was much smaller
than the 0.4 per cent widely expected, fuelling fears that a further “double
dip” slip back into recession could be around the corner.

Read more

Britain exits longest recession on record – just

Britain emerged today from the longest recession in modern history, but the
economy grew by only 0.1 per cent between October and December — far below
expectations of a 0.4 per cent rebound.

Today’s figure is only the first of three readings of GDP for the fourth
quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The reading is so low that a downward revision could leave the country still
in recession.

Read more

Buy-to-let boost as demand for rented homes is up 24pc

Published: 7:13AM GMT 23 Jan 2010

Demand for rented homes is outstripping the supply of properties available to
let following a rise in reluctant tenants, research claimed today.

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (Arla) said the number of homes
available to let was falling, while demand for rented accommodation was
rising as people struggled to find properties to buy or mortgages they
qualified for.

Around 41pc of letting agents said there were more potential tenants than
properties during the final quarter of 2009, up from 24pc during the three
months to the end of September.

Read more

Bank of America sees $194m loss

Wall Street giant Bank of America has reported a net loss of $194m (£120m) in the last three months of 2009.That compared with a loss of $1.8bn in the same period a year earlier. It added that it had repaid the $45bn government bail-out money it had received, but taking the impact of this into account, it made a loss of $5.2bn. Earlier this week, fellow US bank JP Morgan Chase reported a profit of $3.3bn, while Citigroup said it made a $7.6bn loss in the final quarter. For the whole of 2009, Bank of America made a net profit of $6.3bn, an increase on the $4bn profit it made in 2008. ‘Disappointing’ loss”While it’s disappointing to report a loss for the fourth quarter, there were a number of important accomplishments worth noting,” said chief executive Brian Moynihan. “First, we repaid the American taxpayer, with interest, for the Tarp [Troubled Asset Relief Program] investment. “Second, we have taken steps to strengthen our balance sheet through successful securities offerings. And third, all of our non-credit businesses recorded positive contributions to our results.” Bank of America received the Tarp money after agreeing to buy Merrill Lynch in September 2008 in a deal worth $50bn. The chief executive at the time, Ken Lewis, was widely criticised for going ahead with the purchase of Merrill, and he left the bank at the end of 2009. His successor, Mr Moynihan, was upbeat looking at the year ahead. “As we look at 2010, we are encouraged by signs the economy is improving, as we have seen in the stabilisation of our credit costs, particularly in the consumer businesses,” he said. “That said, economic conditions remain fragile and we expect high unemployment levels to continue, creating an ongoing drag on consumer spending and growth.”

Print Sponsor



Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Next Page »