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July 21, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
In a period where rising raw-material costs and oil prices are denting profits, a recent poll indicates that most US companies are looking to redress their balance sheets by reducing hiring and increasing prices.
The National Association for Business Economics indicated that nearly four times as many businesses plan to increase prices and pass their ever increasing overheads to their customers, ...
by Peter Charalambous
Consumer spending on debit, credit and store cards fell last month in New Zealand and according to the central bank, domestic card spending increased at a slower pace of 2.3 percent from last year, even though overseas card spending experienced growth of 11.4%.
The tightened consumer spending is a further sign, alongside record-high interest rates and a slumping housing market, ...
by Peter Charalambous
Malaysia's inflation is estimated to reach up to 7 percent in June and July, although Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop has said today that the rate should not exceed 5 percent for the whole of 2008, as the June-July rate will be higher, but he expects it will be contained through the rest of the year.
Nor Mohamed did not reveal the central ...
by Peter Charalambous
Prices paid to Australian producers increased slower than predicted, as the producer price index advanced 1 percent after rising 1.9 percent in the first quarter, even though estimates indicated a figure closer to 1.6 percent.
Further details will be available on Wednesday when the consumer price report for the second quarter is due.
This latest development does support the view by the central ...
by Peter Charalambous
UK house prices have experienced the biggest fall on record this month as prices fell by £4,345 or 1.8 percent in July from June, which is the largest single fall on record, according to property website Rightmove.co.uk.
Rightmove said new sellers are having to cut prices in order to tempt buyers to ignore the risk of rising mortgage costs and tougher lending ...
by Elisha Sanders
The Executive Cabinet of Taiwan raised the threshold on offshore investments going to China, last Thursday, in an attempt to broaden investment opportunities for Taiwanese companies, specifically in how they use their capital.
Under the previous legislation, companies that had their headquarters in Taiwan and were worth over NT$5 billion were allowed to invest up to 40% of their ...
July 20, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Sony Ericsson is to slash 2,000 jobs globally over the next 12 months in a bid to cut operating costs by €300 million a year.
The mobile phone maker posted an operating loss of €2 million (£1.59 million, $3.1 million) for the second quarter, compared with a profit of €315 million a year ago. Sales in the quarter fell by 9.4% ...
July 18, 2008
by Peter Charalambous
The euro zone’s energy trade deficit increased by 42 percent in the four months of 2008, as oil prices broke record after record as the deficit on energy products increased to 99.7 billion euros ($158 billion) from 70.4 billion euros this time last year.
European energy regulators have been promoting greater cross-border competition and transparency across Europe’s energy sector which should also ...
by Peter Charalambous
The UK’s budget deficit is at it highest for over 50 years, which has increased the pressure on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to re-write the borrowing rules as the economy heads into an increased depression.
The deficit is currently at £24.4bn and in the last month, increased to £9.2bn which is higher than the £7.4bn which was predicted by economists.
It was Gordon Brown ...
by Peter Charalambous
The Bank of Canada has left key interest rates unchanged this week as the country is now set to cut its economic growth outlook as economists had previously predicted.
As well as the fact that there is further difficultly due to the aftershock the economy has suffered following the downturn of the US economy and it is the high dollar that is ...
by Kay Murchie
Kier Group, the construction, housebuilding and maintenance company, has announced it is shedding around 350 staff in its residential division.
The cuts represent 60% of the 625 workers in the division. It is the latest company to suffer as a result of the housing market slump.
In the last fortnight, housebuilders including Persimmon, Barratt’s, Bovis and Redrow all ...
by Kay Murchie
Australia’s flagship carrier, Qantas Airways, has confirmed today it is slashing 1,500 jobs as it battles with rocketing fuel costs.
The job cuts represent 4% of its global workforce of 36,000. 1,300 jobs are expected to go in Australia while call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London will be closed.
Furthermore, Qantas' budget subsidiary, Jetstar, ...
July 17, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Blacks Leisure, the outdoor equipment retailer, is benefiting from the credit crunch as holidaymakers are shunning Europe and opting for a cheaper alternative, such as camping.
According to the company, industry figures are showing camping holiday bookings are up 10% this summer and forward bookings for next year are up 20%.
As a result, holidaymakers are splashing ...
by Kay Murchie
Budget airline Ryanair has today announced it is to cut around 250 flights from London's Stansted airport as it grapples with rising fuel costs and airport fees.
The cuts at the Irish airline will see the number of weekly flights fall by 14% and carry approximately 900,000 fewer passengers as it trims its Stansted fleet from 40 to ...
by Kay Murchie
Manchester-based The Co-operative Group (Co-op), has now bought rival Somerfield after months of discussions.
As a result of the £1.6 billion deal, the Co-op has become the UK's fifth largest supermarket chain. The new business, which is owned by its members, will have an 8% share of the grocery market.
However, following the takeover, it is believed that ...
July 16, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices fell for a second day in a row Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported that inventories were up more than expected last week.
August contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $4.16 to $134.58 per barrel just before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while at last report Brent crude had dropped $2.58 ...
by Elisha Sanders
Washington Mutual's (WaMu) financial affairs are not in a healthy state, in spite of the highly controversial injection of $7 billion in April through the sale of a 13% stake to a financial group lead by TPG Inc.
Shares for the savings and loans bank have plummeted in recent months, now at a low not seen since 1991.
When ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar strengthened against the euro on declines in oil prices and after Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) reported that profits in the second quarter were better than had been anticipated.
At around 1 p.m. in New York, the dollar was trading at $1.5840 to the euro while it took ¥104.63 to buy a dollar.
The Australian dollar weakened versus the greenback as it traded at ...
by Peter Charalambous
The UK inflation rate is nearly double that of the Bank of England’s target rate as inflation on the consumer price index (CPI) increased from 3.3 percent in May to 3.8 percent last month, exceeding analysts expectations of 3.6 percent. It is the third month in a row that inflation figures are higher than forecasts.
The rise of the annual inflation rate ...
July 15, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Comments from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, new data from the US Commerce and Labor departments on retail sales and producer price inflation, and a prediction from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that global oil demand growth won’t be as vigorous next year as it was this year all combined to cut crude oil prices Tuesday.
West ...
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