|
|
December 21, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were higher on Friday, in light trade ahead of the Christmas holiday next week.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery added $2.24 to $93.30 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while February contracts for Brent crude gained $1.72 to $92.60 per barrel.
Nymex January gasoline was 7 cents higher to $2.40 per gallon while February heating oil was ...
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific region markets were up to end the week on Friday as gains in the technology sector on demand for consumer electronics raised hopes that a slowing US economy won’t hurt sales. Australia’s markets saw gains after seven consecutive days of declines. The Sydney Ordinaries added 1.03 percent to 6,309.4 while the S&P/ASX200 was up 1.13 percent to 6,247. In ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound was weaker on Friday as investors worried that lower house prices spurred by tighter lending and inflation that has been slowing could cause the Bank of England to cut interest rates again soon.
The UK currency fell to an all-time low versus the euro at 72.56p to the euro and traded at 72.41p to the euro at early afternoon in ...
by Kay Murchie
Channel Four has been given a £1.5 million fine over misconduct in Richard and Judy's You Say We Pay competition and Deal or No Deal. Collectively it is the second biggest fine ever imposed by Ofcom, the largest being £2 million on GMTV for similar phone-ins.
Ofcom, the media watchdog, hit them with the fine after it was established that finalists for ...
by Kay Murchie
Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, who are members of the Unite union, are to stage two 48-hour strikes in January after they voted in favour of industrial action.
Unite national officer, Brian Boyd, said the strikes will run for 48 hours each, starting at 0600 on Wednesday 9 January and from 0600 on Wednesday 16 January. In a statement, ...
December 20, 2007
by Elaine Frei
The price of crude oil declined Thursday reports that showed a slowdown in the US economy and that predicted warmer than normal temperatures for the eastern two-thirds of the United States for at least the first part of the winter.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery dropped 18 cents to $91.06 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange ...
by Elaine Frei
Most Asia-Pacific markets were lower on Thursday after retail sales in the United States were down for the third week in a row, raising concerns that exports from the region will not find buyers in the world’s largest market for them. Exceptions were India’s Sensex and the Shanghai Composite, which added 0.37 percent to 19,162.57 and 2.06 percent to 5,043.54 respectively. ...
by Elaine Frei
The yen was up in relation to all sixteen most active currencies on Thursday after the Bank of Japan warned that the global economy will slow next year.
It took ¥112.9650 to buy a US dollar in early afternoon trade in New York, while the yen traded at ¥162.0822 to the euro, at ¥224.0884 to the pound, at ¥97.0651 to the Australian dollar ...
by Stewart Douglas
US market regulators have today given the green light to the proposed takeover of online media company Doubleclick by search engine and advertising giant Google, in a move that is thought to be worth over $3 billion and has been some time in the making.
The move was presented before the Federal Trade Commission after suspicions that it may adversely impact ...
by Stewart Douglas
Broadcasting giant BSkyB should sell its 18% stake in ITV, according to the recommendations of the Competition Commission today in their final report on the matter, suggesting that the level of strategic input retained by the company would be contrary to the interests of competition.
The competition regulator suggested that BSkyB should sell off most or all of its share in the company, ...
by Kay Murchie
There is speculation that Mahesh Jagtiani, the retail entrepreneur, may be plotting a bid for ailing retailer, Debenham's. Shares in the retailer soared nearly 15% after the news.
Mr Jagtiani, an ex-London taxi driver and hotel cleaner who runs the Dubai-based fashion chain Landmark Group, has acquired 7% of the retailer. However, Debenhams insists it is not a bid alert.
Along with ...
by Kay Murchie
Sports Direct International, majority-owned by billionaire Mike Ashley, has announced that sales are down 7% to £668 million. Profits slumped 35% to £52 million in the six months to 31 October.
Mr Ashley, who purchased Newcastle United earlier this year, holds 68% of the stock and is expected to take the business private, bringing an abrupt end to a run on ...
December 19, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Reports from the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories dropped significantly last week, sending crude oil prices higher.
February contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude up $1.52 to $91.60 per barrel an hour before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery added $1.07 to $91.19 per barrel on the ...
by Stewart Douglas
Negotiations are underway between Japanese network giant NTT DoCoMo and Apple for the exclusivity of the iPhone in the Japanese marketplace, following the overturning of a European Court ruling that previously invalidated the enforcability of the agreements formed across the world.
The agreement would see NTT become the exclusive distributor of the iPhone when it's launched in the Japanese market, in the ...
by Stewart Douglas
The parent company that owns Airbus, EADS, has today announced that it plans to sell six of its main production plants to rivals from across Europe, in a move designed to cut costs and help focus its core business in light of the continually falling dollar which has hurt profit margins for the company.
The factories to be sold will be those ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound weakened versus the US dollar on Wednesday on the continuing possibility that the Bank of England will cut interest rates again soon in order to protect the UK economy from slowing, marking the first time in three months that it cost less than $2 to buy a pound.
In early afternoon trade in New York the dollar traded at $1.9959 ...
by Kay Murchie
Mobile phone company O2 is looking to extend the deals it has with media companies including Warner Bros, HBO and Paramount for its TV service in the Czech Republic to the UK, as it plans compete with BT, Sky and Virgin Media in the British pay-TV market.
O2 is owned by Spanish group Telefonica who recently introduced a residential broadband service. The ...
by Kay Murchie
Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank has reported a 2% rise in fourth quarter profits helped by gains in its investment banking and financial advisory divisions.
Net profit for the quarter to December increased to $3.22 billion (£1.59 billion) compared with $3.15 billion 12 months earlier. The bank's revenues for the quarter increased to $10.74 billion from $9.41 billion.
The company also ...
by Kay Murchie
Photo-Me International, the photo-booth operator, announced a decline in first half profits after it said it was 'distracted by failed efforts to sell its core vending business'.
The company said it was unlikely to make a profit in the second half of the year after the uncertainty unnerved customers, employees and suppliers.
Interim profits for the half year to end of October ...
December 18, 2007
by Stewart Douglas
The number of tourists turned through the Disneyland resort in Hong Kong has fallen today over the course of its second year, in news that has been hard to take for both Disney and the Hong Kong government based on the ownership model employed.
The park has been as something of a disappointment since its launch, failing to secure its target visitor numbers ...
|
|
