Euro bounces back as German manufacturing growth hits two year high August 22, 2013 German August purchasing manager's index (PMI) flash estimates have performed well, with services and manufacturing both beating expectations. Manufacturing PMI was expected to rise from 50.7 to 51.1, instead it jumped to 52.0. The service sector was predicted up from 51.3 to 51.7, and also outperformed estimates, at 52.4. The euro has snapped back up [...]
SABMiller doubles brewing capacity in Uganda August 22, 2013 SABMiller has announced the official opening of its second brewery in Uganda following a $90m (£57.7m) investment (release). Construction of the brewery in Mbarara, western Uganda began in February 2012 and has been operational since April this year. The new facility will double the potential brewing capacity of SABMiller’s Ugandan subsidiary Nile Breweries to 3.6m [...]
Euro sinks as French data misses expectations August 22, 2013 Despite expectations of an improvement, French purchasing manager's index (PMI) flash estimates have worsened in July. That's set the euro down against the dollar. It looks like $EURUSD was knocked back about 25 pips from 1.3350 by the French PMI preliminary release. — DailyFXTeamMember (@DailyFXTeam) August 22, 2013 The manufacturing number stays steady at 49.7, [...]
Bank of England rebel Martin Weale concerned by high inflation August 22, 2013 The rebel on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) – hawk Martin Weale – has managed to sound both hawkish and dovish in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. At the last MPC meeting Weale voted against the introduction of forward guidance. Here's what the analysts had to say then. Rob Wood, chief [...]
Before the open – 22/08 August 22, 2013 After the Federal Reserve's minutes failed to provide markets with any clarity, markets are expected to open lower this morning in Europe. That Fed update didn't give investors any clues, with Todd Schoenberger of LandColt Capital saying that "traders are angry and confused by today's release". Strong Chinese manufacturing is unlikely to provide enough of [...]
Regulator agrees redress of up to £1.3bn for mis-sold insurance products August 22, 2013 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reached an agreement with several firms to provide redress to consumers mis-sold Card Protection Plan's (CPP) Card Protection and Identity Protection policies. This follows the mis-selling of 23 million policies to seven million customers. Those customers will now receive a letter from CPP explaining the process with a [...]
WH Smith expects good performance despite weaker publishing schedule August 22, 2013 High street retailer WH Smith has announced that it is continuing "good performance" as it focuses on "gross margin gains and tight cost control" in order to improve performance (release). The firm noted that last year saw a "relatively strong publishing schedule in the second half", which they'll be wanting analysts to take into account [...]
Chinese manufacturing returns to growth amid slowdown fears August 22, 2013 Chinese manufacturing is growing again in August, according to a flash purchasing manager's index (PMI) release from HSBC. Rising from 47.7 to 50.1, Chinese order books are just managing to grow (any number above 50 implies growth in the sector), while defying economist estimates of a more modest improvement to 48.3. Despite this better data, [...]
Thomson Local bought out of administration August 22, 2013 DIRECTORY services brand Thomson Local was bought out of administration by two serial entrepreneurs yesterday. Thomson Local, which sends out 22m copies of its UK business directory and maintains several websites, appointed Grant Thornton as administrator on Wednesday, following several tough years. The Hampshire-based firm posted a net loss of £732,000 for 2011, down from [...]
UK banks face another mis-selling scandal August 21, 2013 The Financial Conduct Authority is preparing to set out a compensation scheme for consumers who bought identity theft and credit card protection from York-based life assistance company CPP, Sky News was first to report. British banks will again be hit by a mis-selling scandal, which could see them lose up to £1.5bn. Around a dozen [...]