Figures looking up for French Connection with narrowed first-half loss September 16, 2013 French Connection had reduced loss before tax of £6.1m, down from the 2012 figure of £6.3m, in its half-year report to the end of July. (Release) The British retailer also highlighted its improved cash position of £22.3m, up from £21.2m in 2012, lack of debt and significant reduction in stock levels. With reaction to its winter [...]
Victory for Clegg on economics as left-leaning Lib Dems fail to scupper motion September 16, 2013 Liberal Democrats have supported Nick Clegg's motion "Strengthening the UK Economy" (pages 37-39). The proposed and largely rejected changes – put forward by the left-leaning faction the Social Liberal Forum (SLF) – are below. The party leadership were happy to accept the first amendment if the first four lines of that did not pass, and [...]
GlaxoSmithKline combination drug for melanoma gets FDA priority review September 16, 2013 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today that it has received a Priority Review from the US regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a combination treatment for melanoma. In the US alone, more than 8,000 people die of melanoma each year, with 68,000 of the one million diagnoses of skin cancer each year caused by melanoma. (Release) [...]
Lib Dem lines to take for interviews – in full September 16, 2013 The Lib Dems appear to have given journalists their full lines to take for every interview: Five things to remember for every interview This conference sees the party in a confident mood We have a strong record of achievement in Government Our priorities are jobs and easing the squeeze on household budgets Labour cannot be [...]
Anglo American withdraws from Alaskan copper project September 16, 2013 Miner Anglo American has announced that it is withdrawing from its Pebble copper project in Alaska (release). he Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) was created in 2007 between AA Pebble and an affiliate of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. ("Northern Dynasty"), who are equal partners in PLP. Following the withdrawal, PLP will proceed under the sole ownership of [...]
Regulator launches investigation into PwC audit of Berkeley September 16, 2013 Regulators have announced the launch of an investigation into auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) (release). The Financial Reporting Council is looking into PwC's audit of Berkeley. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation under the Accountancy Scheme into whether PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was independent when it conducted the audit of The Berkeley Group Holdings plc’s financial [...]
First-half pretax profit more than double for investment group Shore Capital September 16, 2013 Profit before tax for the Guernsey-based boutique investment bank rose by 123.2 per cent to £3.3m in the first half of 2013 (to end of June) – the 2012 figure was £1.5m. (Release) Earnings per share were up too at 0.83p, a 72.9 per cent increase on 2012's 0.48p. In terms of equity capital markets, [...]
Spain trying to get its casa in order: Country’s debt may shoot past IMF estimates September 16, 2013 Spain is still in recession, but could be turning the corner and returning to growth. The country still needs a strong recovery to reduce unemployment and avoid higher public sector debt according to a new note from Capital Economics. Roger Bootle, Capital Economics: Thanks to the ECB’s OMT programme, government bond yields are back to [...]
Eurozone Consumer Price Index meets expectations September 16, 2013 The Eurozone Consumer Price Index has come in in line with expectations of a 0.1 per cent increase for August. July's figure was down -0.5 per cent. Year-on-year, the rate of change for the index has decreased 0.3 per cent, with July to July up 1.6 per cent and August to August up 1.3 per [...]
Sparkling results for Petra Diamonds as production soars September 16, 2013 Diamond company Petra Diamonds has seen revenue increase by 27 per cent, from $316.9m in 2012 to $402.7m this year. (Release) Production was up by 21 per cent to 2,666,305m carats, with profits glistening at $52.5m (up from $8.4m in 2012). Whilst other commodity markets have experienced degrees of turbulence over the last few years, [...]