It was a rough end to the week for the markets following the crucial US non-farm payroll employment data for April. The FTSE 100 ended Friday at 5,655, down 111 on the day and down 2.1% for the week. The index is now only up 1.5% year to date (5,572 start to 2012) The Dow…
After a seven year fight, former MG Rover workers are getting just £3 each following the collapse of the company in 2005, UK’s last major car maker. The management team who bought out the Birmingham based company for £10 in 2000 from BMW, the so called “Phoenix Four’”- John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards and…
One of the key economic indicators of US activity arrives after lunch UK time with the April non-farmpayroll employment data. After a disapointing gain of 120,000 jobs in March, expectations are for 150-165,000 in April. Wednesday’s private sector ADP data came in below expectations adding to the pressure on tomorrow’s numbers. Contrarian Investor UK
It looks like Facebook has an IPO price range in the high $20s to mid $30s, giving it a valuation of $85 billion to $95 billion according to reports from the US today. The valuation is below the $100 billion hoped for in recent months, but weak quarterly revenue and earnings data has knocked back…
An interesting insight into one of the world’s largest and expensive drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, Mars, which shows the opportunity, dangers and cost of deep water drilling in areas such as the Gulf, Brazil, the Falklands and Greenland. The Mars field was discovered in 1989 using the drillship, Discoverer Seven Seas. Data…
BG Group is currently down 2.2 percent at 1419p despite a strong growth in underlying earnings on news that production from the North Sea Jasmine field (which is 30% owned by BG) is delayed until 2013 from the end of 2012. Jasmine is operated and and 36.5% owned by Conoco Phillips. This delay is…
The depressing state of many parts of Britain’s high street was illustrated by a 13 percent slump in Home Retail Group shares, owner of Argos and Homebase, to 87.5p after disappointing results and a dividend cut. Investors in Home Retail who has 748 stores have seen their shares tumble from a 52 week high of…
The markets are down heavily today as the ADP (Automatic Data Processing) shows the weakest growth in US private sector employment in seven months. The Dow Jones Industrials are down 50 points to 13,229 and the FTSE 100 is down 57 at 5,755. The data showed an increase of 119,000 in April, the lowest result…
After the hysteria triggered by the rumours of a gigantic oil discovery at Borders and Southern’s Darwin East well in the South Falklands basin, all is quiet. For now! Borders and Southern of course disappointed many investors who piled into the shares a couple of weeks ago after stories in the Sun newspaper of oil…
Research in Motion’s shares are down 4.5 percent to $13.6 on a report from IDC that showed RIM’s share of the global smartphone market fell to 6.7% in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 13.6% for the same period last year. Apple and Samsung together had a 53% of the total market on a volume…
