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January 25, 2009
by Kay Murchie
A further blow to the economy comes as Britain’s largest steelmaker, Corus, is planning 3,500 job losses, with 2,000 in the UK.
The company, which is Europe’s second-largest steelmaker and the ninth largest in the world, was created 10 years ago from the merger of British Steel and Dutch firm Hoogovens. It has UK sites at Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Teesside.
It ...
January 23, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were higher in volatile trade Friday.
March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude closed $2.49 higher to $46.16 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while at last report Brent crude for March delivery added $1.77 to $47.16 per barrel.
In afternoon trade, Nymex February gasoline futures were down 2 cents to $1.07 per gallon while March heating oil added ...
by Elaine Frei
Most European equities markets were lower Friday as banks again declined and insurers had a rough day as well.
The FTSE 100 managed a gain of just 0.01 percent to 4,052.47 in London, but the FTSE 250 was 1.28 percent lower to 6,088.13.
Insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) turned in the worst performance on the 100 as it dropped 13.61 percent, while ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound fell to a record low in relation to the Japanese yen as the yen traded at ¥118.85 to the UK currency Friday as the UK Office for National Statistics issued data showing that the gross domestic product was down by 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, more of a decline than had been expected and the biggest quarter drop ...
by Kay Murchie
Samsung Electronics, which is the world’s largest maker of LCD panels and televisions, has posted its first ever quarterly loss.
The company, which accounts for approximately 20% of South Korea's annual exports, is regarded as the South Korean bellwether of the global consumer electronics industry.
Samsung’s loss follows news from software giant, Microsoft, who yesterday announced 5,000 job losses and a net profit ...
January 22, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were nearly flat in New York after dropping by more than $2 after the US Energy Information Administration released its weekly inventories data
The report was delayed a day due to the Martin Luther King, Jr Day holiday on Monday.
The EIA reported during the day that US crude oil inventories added 6.1 million barrels in the week ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were mostly lower Thursday, but London markets were mixed on the session as the FTSE 100 dropped 0.19 percent to 4,052.23 but the FTSE 250 added 0.12 percent to 6,167.13.
For a second day in a row, banks took the top spot in both the winners’ and losers’ columns on the 100 as Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) ...
by Kay Murchie
Supermarket giant Morrisons has proved itself as Britain’s best performing supermarket with sales (excluding fuel) up 8.2% in the six weeks to 4 January.
Sales were boosted by its organic and value ranges and the group attracted over 2 million more shoppers than last year.
The group, based in Bradford, said a large number of middle-class shoppers had switched to its stores, ...
by Kay Murchie
Software giant Microsoft is to axe 5,000 jobs worldwide over the next 18 months, with 1,400 jobs to go immediately.
Following the news, shares in the company plunged 7.9% as it also announced a net profit of $4.17 billion (£3 billion) for the final quarter of 2008, 11% down compared with the same period the previous year.
The company said that jobs will ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound and the US dollar both declined versus the yen Thursday on more bad economic news.
The pound was hurt by the news that home repossessions in the UK were up 92 percent in the third quarter and in anticipation of another report, due Friday, which could show that the UK economy contracted by more than 1 percent in ...
January 21, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Oil prices saw gains Wednesday on gains in equities markets, despite expectations that Energy Information Administration inventories numbers due tomorrow are expected to show gains in crude oil and gasoline stockpiles last week.
West Texas Intermediate for March delivery added $2.71 to $43.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while March contracts for Brent crude were up ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound lost ground to the US dollar, the yen and the euro on Wednesday, although in afternoon trade in New York it got back a bit of its losses to the Japanese currency after Mervyn King’s comments that the Bank of England could begin to buy corporate bonds and commercial paper to shore up UK businesses after the ...
by Kay Murchie
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today show that unemployment in the UK reached 1.92 million in the three months to November - the highest level since September 1997 and takes the unemployment rate to 6.1%.
However and worryingly, the figures do not include the redundancies announced at the end of last year such as the 27,000 job losses ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were mixed Wednesday as banks staged a comeback but the oil sector saw declines despite gains in crude oil prices.
In London, the FTSE 100 was down 0.77 percent to 4,059.88 but the FTSE 250 added 0.28 percent to 6,159.5.
Banks were mostly higher, with Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) leading winners on ...
January 20, 2009
by Elaine Frei
February crude oil futures saw gains in New York Tuesday but March and future contracts saw declines as the February contracts expired at the close of floor trade today.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery gained $2.34 to $38.85 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange but the more active March contract, which takes over as the front-month contract, had dropped ...
by Kay Murchie
Pub chain, JD Wetherspoon, has bucked the trend by reporting a 6.4% increase in like-for-like sales in the last two weeks of trading, compared to a 2.6% rise 12 weeks to 18 January.
The group, which has 714 pubs, has boosted sales by slashing the cost of a pint of beer to less than a pound which has drawn ...
by Elaine Frei
Bank stocks were lower globally Tuesday on fears that the recession will deepen after UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown proposed that his government put another £50 billion into his nation’s banking system, including a raised government stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) after the bank said it could lose a record amount this year.
RBS ...
by Kay Murchie
Burberry is the latest company to suffer amid the economic downturn after it announced it is to shut a sewing plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire with the loss of 290 jobs.
The site in Eastwood is to close and 170 jobs will go, while a further 120 jobs will go at its only remaining UK plants in Castleford and ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound weakened versus the yen, the US dollar and the euro Tuesday after new data showed inflation still slowing in the UK as prices rose just 3.1 percent in December after a gain of 4.1 percent in November, and after Gordon Brown proposed to put another £50 billion into UK banks in an attempt to stabilize the economy.
Among the factors that ...
January 19, 2009
by Kay Murchie
Tonight sees the second episode of the BBC2 reality show Million Dollar Traders in which eight ordinary people are selected to profit from playing the global markets.
The eight traders, who were chosen last spring, include an environmentalist, a soldier, a boxing promoter, an entrepreneur, a retired IT consultant, a vet, a student and a shopkeeper.
The programme ...
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