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January 16, 2009
by Kay Murchie
One of the world’s leading accountancy firms, KPMG, is the latest to suffer during the economic downturn after it offered its 11,000 staff sabbaticals or a shorter working week.
In an email earlier today, staff were told they have the option of moving onto a 4-day week, with the fifth day unpaid.
According to the accountancy firm, the proposal is a ...
by Kay Murchie
Circuit City, the American electronics retailer, is to close its doors after a buyer could not be found for its 500-plus stores.
As a result of the collapse, 30,000 jobs will be lost in an economy already suffering from a recession and job losses.
Today’s announcement from the retailer comes just two months after the company filed for ...
by Kay Murchie
Japanese car manufacturer Honda has announced plans to cease production at its Swindon plant for 20 days in April and 15 days in May as a result of a fall in global sales.
The news comes as the car manufacturer, which is Japan's second-largest, announced a further round of job cuts in Japan. However, no jobs are threatened ...
January 15, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices fell again Thursday after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said demand for its supplies will fall 4.2 percent to 29.5 million barrels per day in 2009, and after a report from the US Labor Department which said first-time unemployment claims rose to 524,000 in the week ending 10 January.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery dropped ...
by Elaine Frei
The euro was weaker in relation to the US dollar and the Japanese yen Thursday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 2 percent.
The cut was about what analysts had expected.
In afternoon trade in New York, it took $1.313 to buy a euro, while at the same time the yen traded at ¥117.9031 to ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were lower Thursday as the banking sector saw declines on concerns that banks will need to raise more cash to stay afloat after predictions of more losses to be reported.
In London, losses on the FTSE 100 were led by Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY) with a decline of 11.35 percent, followed by Barclays (LSE: BARC; NYSE: ...
by Kay Murchie
Overall, it has been a dismal Christmas for many retailers with thousands of job losses and companies going bust amid the economic downturn.
Discount fashion chain Primark has bucked the trend and announced a successful festive period with sales increasing by 21% in the 16 weeks to 3 January.
Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods, said Christmas sales ...
January 14, 2009
by Elaine Frei
The price of crude oil fell in New York on Wednesday on Energy Information Administration data showing that stockpiles of crude oil, gasoline and distillates such as heating oil and diesel fuel all grew last week and on figures showing that demand for gasoline fell by 2.1 percent in the past for weeks over demand in the same period last ...
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in Europe saw significant declines Wednesday as the banking sector declined both in London and on the continent.
The FTSE 200 was down 4.97 percent to 4,180.64 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 2.81 percent to 6,363.59.
The London banking sector was down after Morgan Stanley said that HSBC’s (LSE: HSBA; NYSE: HBC; Euronext: HSBC; SEHK: 005) earnings will ...
by Elaine Frei
The US dollar and the Japanese yen both gained on the euro Wednesday, ahead of the European Central Bank’s decision on interest rates, due Thursday, in which the Bank is expected to cut rates by around half a percentage point.
The gains for the greenback and the yen came as the US Commerce Department reported that retail sales in the United States dropped ...
January 13, 2009
by Elaine Frei
Crude oil prices were higher Tuesday after prices fluctuated between gains and losses during the New York session.
At the close of floor trade in New York West Texas Intermediate crude’s February contracts were 37 cents higher to $37.96 per barrel, while at last report, Brent crude for February delivery was trading up $1.29 to $44.20 per barrel on the ICE ...
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were lower again Tuesday, with banks and insurers among the biggest losers on the session.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.61 percent to 4,399.15 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 2.07 percent to 6,547.29 after more bad news from the housing sector as sales and house prices continued to decline.
Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642) turned in the ...
by Elaine Frei
The pound weakened Tuesday on bad news, mostly from the housing sector.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported that the average number of homes sold per surveyor fell to 10.1 in the fourth quarter of 2008, the lowest in thirty years
Meanwhile, the Department for Communities and Local Government reported that house prices were down at an annualized rate of 8.6 percent in November.
The ...
by Kay Murchie
Supermarket giant Tesco said it had suffered its worst Christmas trading since the early 1990s, describing conditions as ‘challenging‘ as a result of the global economic slowdown.
The UK’s largest supermarket group, with a 30% market share, said like-for-like UK sales, excluding petrol, increased 2.5% in the seven weeks to 10 January.
Total group sales grew by 11.6% during the same period, ...
January 12, 2009
by Elaine Frei
The price of crude oil feel substantially in New York trade Monday, mostly on worries about demand erosion after last week’s employment report from the US Labor Department and on declines in equities markets although concerns that inventories will continue to rise also hurt prices.
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $3.24 to $37.59 per barrel at the close ...
by Kay Murchie
JCB, one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world, is to axe a further 684 jobs at its UK factories, on top of the 1,000 job losses made last year.
The company, based in Rocester, Staffordshire, has 17 factories in the UK, Brazil, China, Germany, India and North America. It has a workforce of around ...
by Elaine Frei
The euro fell in relation to the US dollar and the Japanese yen on Monday on a statement from the International Monetary Fund which said Europe does not adequately appreciate the need for stimulation of the Eurozone economy as well as on increased expectations that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates when it meets next.
At just past noon in ...
by Kay Murchie
Struggling housebuilders are set to receive a £500 million rebate from the taxman.
The industry has suffered dramatically in the wake of falling house prices and the mortgage squeeze, which has led to a severe decline in the number of property transactions.
However, the industry is set to receive huge rebates following significant losses in the last 12-18 months after developers wrote down ...
by Kay Murchie
Furniture retailer Land of Leather is currently reviewing its finances and has requested that the stock exchange suspend its shares and has lined up an administrator just in case the situation deteriorates.
The 109-store retailer, based in Kent, is debt free but insiders say the chain requires emergency working capital to continue trading.
The economic downturn has meant that ...
January 11, 2009
by Kay Murchie
Research by accountancy group Ernst & Young (E&Y) has found that profit warnings by firms listed on the London Stock Exchange reached a 7-year high last year.
E&Y said that the number of profit warnings by UK-listed companies was 449 in 2008, 17% higher than the previous year.
The economic downturn has had a major impact on almost all industries and according ...
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