Britain versus US. US advantages are myths, says report
28 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 43 views]
How many times do you hear the following gripe? “Government red tape is stifling British business, we need to be more like the US”. Then there’s the classic, “its too difficult for companies to obtain finance in this country. If you need backing you are better off going to the US.” There’s an implicit belief [...]
US Coast Guard had doubts about Dubai port takeover
28 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 71 views]
Details emerged yesterday that for a short time after the Bush administration had okayed the Dubai ports purchase of five US ports owned by P&O, the US coast guards had doubts. Well, not so much doubts, as questions. It simply did not have enough information to make a judgement on whether there were security implications [...]
Amazon is first big purchase since dot com crash
28 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 44 views]
Of all the top dotcoms, Amazon has disappointed the most in recent years. While the likes of Yahoo, Google and eBay grow, grow and then grow some more, Amazon has looked increasingly like a mature stock, with single digit growth, concerned about protecting its market position. It hasn’t even engaged in major corporate purchase since [...]
RBS beats the rest of the pack – so far
28 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 68 views]
And then there were three. RBS became the third of the big five banks to publish its results this morning trouncing Barclays and Lloyds TSB with a 21% rise in pre tax profits. Barclays only managed a 15% increase, and Lloyds TSB was only able to muster a 10% rise. In total RBS profits came [...]
Vodafone wipes almost £28 billion off its balance sheet
28 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 175 views]
“It’s just an accounting change” said Vodafone’s Finance Director yesterday. But despite this, shares in the word’s leading wireless operator fell, at one point falling to a three year low, and headline writers sharpened their knives and prepared to talk about the tale of woe that is Vodafone. Apparently, under changes to International Financial Reporting [...]
House prices see February surge
27 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 94 views]
House prices enjoyed their best run in February for over 18 months, say both Rightmove and Hometrack in their latest surveys. Elsewhere evidence mounts of the Buy to Let market surging too, with the beleaguered First Time Buyer seeing that first step on the property ladder become more elusive than ever. Up to now, of [...]
Manufacturing lilts
23 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 48 views]
UK manufacturing has just enjoyed its best month since last March, said the CBI yesterday. The CBI industrial trends survey found that 18 per cent of manufacturers reported their order books as above normal and 36 per cent below – a balance of minus 18 per cent. This is up from minus 28 per cent [...]
Bank of England worried about house prices
23 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 65 views]
Talking of the rate of interest, the minutes from the Bank of England’s last meeting were released yesterday. There was just one dissenter from the MPC’s nine members. For the third month in a row, Stephen Nickell voted for lowering rates to 4.25%, the rest, worried about renewed energy in the housing market, voted for [...]
US inflation rises
23 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 61 views]
The scaremongers would have you pressing the panic button – US Inflation was up to 0.7% in January. If that level becomes the norm, US rates would need to go up and up, and the US economy would catch a nasty cold in the process. But then again, look at the US CPI with fuel [...]
Has sugar soured – maybe someone should say to Amstrad boss
23 Feb 2006 [0 Comments | 37 views]
“What I don’t understand is this, you said that the Amstrad dual phone and emailer would be a no brainier, yet it failed. Where’s the magic in Amstrad today? You used to lead British business with your forward thinking and smart ideas for repackaging products in a way that consumers would want them. But today, [...]
