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March 27, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Supermarket giant, J Sainsbury, has announced a strong set of sales figures which were ahead of expectations.
Sainsbury's fourth-quarter like-for-like sales increased 4.1%, its 13th consecutive quarter of improvement. The latest sales figures beat analysts' forecasts of growth of about 3.7%, and chief executive Justin King said it was a ‘good performance‘.
The quarter marks the end of the ...
March 26, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices soared in New York and London Wednesday on a weak dollar and falling US inventories.
May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up $4.98 to $106.20 per barrel in afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude added $3.24 to $103.34 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
Nymex April gasoline was up 3 ...
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets were mixed in the Asia-Pacific region on Wednesday, with gains coming after commodities prices advanced and some losses attributed to new data showing falling consumer confidence in the United States. Gainers included the Kospi index, which was up 0.28 percent to 1,679.67. The Shanghai Composite was 0.63 percent higher to 3,606.86 while the Hang Seng added ...
by Elaine Frei
The euro was higher versus the US dollar on Wednesday on gains in business confidence in Germany in March and comments from the European Central Bank president that high interest rates should keep Eurozone inflation down and as durable goods orders and new home sales both declined in the United States.
At just before 11 a.m. in New York, the dollar was at ...
by Peter Charalambous
Sedlabanki, Iceland's central bank raised key interest rate by a record 1.25 percentage points following an emergency meeting in order to combat the surge if inflationary fear as the krona has fallen by 17 percent against the euro over the past three weeks.
The Bank said today that the sudden move was pivotal to reverse the krona's decline and that action had ...
by Peter Charalambous
Government bonds rose in the past week due to the faltering stock markets, which has fuelled the demand for the safest assets.
There is a greater spread between the two- and 10-year gilts held which is at the widest level in 4 1/2 years as investors seek the added security of shorter-dated notes especially amongst ...
by Peter Charalambous
A strong yen reduces exporters' profits and a faltering U.S. economy has slowed global growth, causing panic amongst Japan’s largest manufacturing companies.
The Bank of Japan's Tankan index of manufacturer sentiment will slide for a second quarter to 12 points in March for the quarter and that the risk of recession and growing anxiety amongst ...
by Kay Murchie
After a dismal Easter weekend’s trading, a flood of retailers are expected to be forced into administration.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research anticipates that sales fell 14% over the Easter holiday compared with the same period last year. SPSL, which measures customer numbers, says visitor numbers to DIY shops fell 13% on Good Friday from a ...
March 25, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices rose slightly in New York and London on Tuesday as the dollar declined versus the euro even though demand worries were amplified after the Conference Board reported another decline in US consumer confidence.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery added 21 cents to $101.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was 59 cents ...
by Elaine Frei
Tokyo’s equities markets rose to their highest level in 2 weeks on Tuesday after new data from the US National Association of Realtors showed that existing home sales were up by 2.9 percent in February against an expectation that they would decline by 0.8 percent. The gain in home sales indicated that Americans are still ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar declined versus the euro on Tuesday on the possibility that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again next month, by as much as half a percentage point, and on new data showing that US consumer confidence was down again in March, to a five-year low.
At around 11:30 a.m. in New York the dollar traded at ...
by Peter Charalambous
In March a combination of continued job losses and increased oil prices have resulted in further denting consumer confidence that has fallen to a five year low, as the Conference Board's confidence index fell to 73.5 from 75 in February.
Plummeting property values have spread fear through the country and increased concern over spending in an economy that depends on consumer ...
by Peter Charalambous
Governor Lee Seong Tae from the Bank of Korea core commodities such as oil and grains are ``leading directly to above-target inflation”.
Consumer prices are up 3.6 percent in February from a year earlier, above the banks target range that is between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent.
The world’s fourth largest economy relies heavily on the imports of raw materials and the effect ...
by Peter Charalambous
Bank of England policy maker Kate Barker predicts that following a decline in residential construction and development UK house prices may fall ‘significantly’ as depositing are becoming far more difficult to obtain due to the credit crunch and in a speech this week said that ``young households in particular face difficulties.''
Due to the credit conditions reducing affordability of house prices ...
by Kay Murchie
Admiral Taverns, the UK's third-largest tenanted pub operator, has announced it is putting its expansion on hold while the economy remains unstable.
Not only is the ongoing credit squeeze having an impact on pub operators but they have also been affected by the smoking ban which came into effect last July.
Admiral’s chief executive, Gary Landesberg, said the world is in ...
by Kay Murchie
British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has confirmed that the airline is holding talks with Iberia’s major shareholder.
BA is not ruling out making an offer for the airline. Mr Walsh said it depends on the price but we have made it clear that we will only do something in agreement.
Mr Walsh said a BA management team is in Spain to hold ...
March 20, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices dropped again Thursday on profit-taking and worries that demand will continue to decline.
May WTI ended the session down 93 cents from Wednesday’s close to $101.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dropping below $100 per barrel for a time, the first time it has done so since 5 March.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for May delivery fell 45 ...
by Peter Charalambous
Following the widely publicized meeting between the Bank of England Governor Mervyn King and executives from the banking industry the offer of emergency short-term funds to banks is back on the table in order to encourage inter bank lending.
Having sold an extra 5 billion pounds in order ti curb borrowing costs and the operation will remain open until ...
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific region equities markets were mixed on Thursday ahead of a four-day weekend for many and as markets in Tokyo and India were closed for holidays. Declines came on falling commodities prices as many were concerned that demand will fall due to problems in the US economy.
Gainers included the Kospi index, which added 0.07 percent to 1,623.39 in South ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar was stronger in relation to commodity-related currencies on Thursday as prices for gold, oil and other commodities continued to drop as analysts and traders were concerned that demand for commodities will decline.
The dollar was at 89.67 cents to the Australian dollar in early afternoon trade in New York, while it was worth 97.21 cents to the Canadian dollar and ...
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