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April 21, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Last week, investors disposed of their pharmaceutical shares following disappointing sales or outlooks from Forest Laboratories, Pfizer and Roche.
Furthermore, a relatively good set of results from Abbott Laboratories failed to excite the market.
According to analysts, there is more gloom expected in the industry as earnings are expected to fall at GlaxoSmithKline, the world’s second largest pharmaceutical company, as it has ...
April 20, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Google, one of the most popular online search engines, has beat analysts’ expectations as first-quarter profits increased to $1.31 billion (£658.5 million), a rise of 30% compared with 12 months ago.
Furthermore, sales were up 42% to $5.19 billion for the quarter ended 31 March.
The results have eased concerns of a slowdown in online advertising. Shares in the company have fallen this ...
April 18, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices set records for the fifth session in a row Friday as West Texas Intermediate crude hit $117 per barrel in after-hours trade after ending the floor session on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $116.69 per barrel, a gain of $1.83.
Nymex May gasoline added 2 cents to $2.98 per gallon but June heating oil dropped 2 cents to ...
by Elaine Frei
The yen weakened versus all major currencies on Friday as sentiment that the worst of the credit crisis could be past spurred investors to return to deals in which they finance purchases of high-yielding currencies with lower-yielding currencies such as the yen.
At around 11 a.m. in New York, the yen traded at ¥104.4050 to the US dollar, at ¥164.2603 to the ...
by Kay Murchie
WH Smith has shrugged off some of the gloom in the retail sector by announcing it is to expand in its fast-growing travel outlets.
WH Smith focuses mainly on its high street shops on traditional newsagents' fare such as magazines, newspapers, stationery and books. However, it already has 433 outlets in airports, motorway service stations and railway stations.
The retailer has signed ...
by Kay Murchie
Findel, one of Britain’s biggest home shopping groups, said profits will be hit by an increasing amount of customers falling behind on payments. Following the profit warning, shares in the company fell by 35%.
Just a fortnight ago, the company which sells clothing and household goods, said that it had achieved record sales in the last 12 months. However, it has now ...
by Kay Murchie
Taylor Wimpey, the UK’s largest housebuilder, has warned that the fall in property prices is turning into a disaster for housebuilders.
The group, which was formed by the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey last July, said it is being hit by a 26% collapse in business - a much sharper fall than estimated at its last ...
April 17, 2008
by Elaine Frei
After rising to a new record high in overnight trade, crude oil prices were down a bit on Thursday.
At just before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was 68 cents below Wednesday’s close at $114.25 per barrel after having risen to a new recored at $115.54 per ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar made gains in relation to the euro on Thursday, but those gains were limited by new data showing that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region contracted more than had been anticipated in April.
At shortly before noon in New York, the dollar traded at $1.5927 to the euro while it took ¥102.2200 to buy a dollar.
The British pound was up ...
by Peter Charalambous
The National Office for Statistics revealed that claims for jobless benefits had fallen 1,200 from the last month, although the forecast in March was exceeded by 600 claims showing signs of a weakening labour market.
The claims this month are suggesting signs of the first increase in 17 months.
Following the global credit squeeze and the threat of the housing market ...
by Peter Charalambous
With the days of easy credit over and as economic slowdown sets in the number of corporate bankruptcies in the US is increasing.
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc filled for bankruptcy on April 11th following three other airlines.
Lynn LoPucki a professor studying bankruptcies at the University of California said that due the increased levels of distressed corporate, it is likely that failures will continue in ...
by Peter Charalambous
The European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet has said that central banks are likely to have little elbow room to make changes to fiscal policy as the credit crunch turmoil has created a situation of uncertainty and so any risks are difficult to predict and manage.
The ECB has kept the benchmark interest rate static even though inflation ...
by Kay Murchie
Taxi maker Manganese Bronze has warned that sales in the first few months of this year are considerably down compared with last year.
The manufacturer of the distinctive London taxi is often seen as an indicator of the City’s economy. The company admitted that its cab sales are usually the victim of any uncertainty in London's financial markets and said sales in ...
by Kay Murchie
One of the country’s best-known sportswear firms, JJB Sports, has announced a 70% plummet in profits and is to close 72 stores which will result in 800 job losses.
The company said in the 12 months to 31 January, revenues came in flat at £811 million as it lost £23 million of sales from England replica kit compared with the previous year, ...
April 16, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices reached a new record high in New York on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery closed up $1.14 to $114.93 per barrel, a new record end-of session price on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as $115.07 per barrel during the day to a new record high, while June contracts for Brent crude added ...
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets were mostly higher on Wednesday on sentiment from within the global banking sector that the worst of the credit market losses are over, as well as on rising demand for commodities as hedges against inflation after crude oil prices rose to yet another record high on Tuesday.
There were exceptions to the gains as the Hang Seng dropped ...
by Elaine Frei
New data showing that Eurozone inflation hit 3.6 percent in March, its highest level in almost 16 years, sent the pound and the US dollar to new lows versus the euro on Wednesday.
The dollar was lower after reports that US housing starts were down 11.9 percent in March, to the fewest starts since March 1991.
The greenback touched a record low at ...
by Peter Charalambous
US produces had a marked increase in prices last month as higher gas and energy bills as well as higher food prices threaten to fuel inflation as the1.1 percent increase follows on from February’s 0.3 percent gain.
The core producer prices that do not include fuel and food still increased by 0.2 though this gain was true to the forecast, ...
by Peter Charalambous
Even though the Chinese economy has growth by more than 10 percent in the first quarter the rate of inflation still remains close to an 11 year high, which keeps the pressure of the government to act in order to stabilize prices.
In order to cool prices, China has allowed the Yuan to appreciate by ...
by Peter Charalambous
German investor confidence has fallen this month, whilst inflation in France has risen to its highest level in 12 years as a time when the European Central Bank officials refuse to cut interest rates.
The ZEW Center for European Economic Research said that the index of German investor and analyst expectations had dropped to minus 40.7 from minus ...
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