investment

World economy 22nd August 2012

Gallup: Sales, Certainty Key to U.S. Small Business Capital Spending

Asked about what would make them more likely to make capital investments in the next 12 months, 70 percent of U.S. small-business owners point out to three circumstances: a better sales outlook, more certainty about their operating environment, and lower federal taxes. According to the Wells Fargo-Gallup Small Business Index released by Gallup, that has surveyed small-business owners on current and future perceptions of their business financial situations, some of…

World economy 1st August 2012

Business investment rate nearly stable at 20.6% in the euro area

The euro zone’s doggedness showed up again in the latest quarterly European sector accounts released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. From January to March of 2012, compared with the last three months of 2011, the business investment rate remained nearly stable in the euro area and fell slightly in the wider European Union. Also, the business profit share even rose slightly in the euro area, as wage costs remained…

In Europe 25th July 2012

Olympics cash wave too low to surf

LONDON | While the Earth begins to follow the 2012 Olympics' throb, as the Welsh authorities put it Tuesday morning, research to determine whose massive opportunity it is has kick-started. But the scope of the latest studies seems more restricted: instead of holding expectations of a general recovery for the UK's economy, think of particular sectors of the hospitality industry. And think London. According to data collected by Santander UK, London…

Companies 14th June 2012

Inditex to invest €290 million in Spain

MADRID | The Inditex Group reported Wednesday net sales in the first quarter of 2012 February to April of €3.4 billion, 15% higher year-on-year (14% in local currencies). Net income amounted to €432 million, 30% more than in the first quarter of 2011. The Spanish company said it had opened 91 new stores during the quarter, bringing the total store base to 5,618. The new stores were opened in 26 markets. In a…

World economy 11th June 2012

IN DEPTH | Africans thriving for business, not development aid

make your ex gf come back NEW YORK | She has traveled from South Africa to New York, almost 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers), to do some useful networking. Melanie Medell, who runs her own textile company in Cape Town, is one of the 47 African women from 37 countries participating in the third annual Africa Women Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP). During three weeks, they will engage in conferences and professional training…

Markets 30th May 2012

The euro contagion reaches Asia

LONDON | While the European Central Bank and the Spanish government argued on Wednesday about the best mechanism to salvage Bankia, Caroline Keen, a member of the team managing the Newton Asian income fund at investment house BNY Mellon, said euro crisis contagion was rapidly developing elsewhere, too. Keen warned that economic headwinds from the euro zone were likely to affect the Asia-Pacific ex Japan region for the remainder of…

Markets 11th May 2012

The European Investment Bank could be the answer to austerity exhaustation

LONDON | Were the tide changing within the shaken frontiers of the European Monetary Union, austerity-driven core euro nations could do worse than open the European Investment Bank’s window to let some fresh capital aid in. Barclays analysts said Friday in a note to investors that using the EIB to complement budget constrictions would be a feasible option and the probability of this happening is growing: this time it is…

World economy 10th April 2012

UK commercial real estate as depressed as the economy

LONDON | The retail property market in the UK continues to struggle, as demand for retail premises stuttered again in the first three months of 2012. This lack of interest in the sector combined with growing availability resulted in a further drop in rental expectations, the latest RICS UK Commercial Market Survey showed on Tuesday. Interest from potential tenants of retail space continued to fall in the first quarter of the…

Companies 16th February 2012

Iberdrola to upgrade UK electricity grid by more than 2,000 MW

Through its subsidiary ScottishPower and National Grid, Iberdrola on Thursday announced the award of a £1bn contract to Siemens and cable manufacturer Prysmian, in order to build the first ever sub-sea electricity link between Scotland and England, Wales. The major grid upgrade will increase the capacity of electricity flowing between England and Scotland by more than 2,000 megawatts (MW), allowing new renewable energy projects to be developed in Scotland that could…

World economy 20th December 2011

Japan, Asian real estate private equity funds’ favourite destination

Although the first signs of uncertainty have begun to emerge on the Asian continent with listed real estate companies trading at discounts, real estate fundamentals remain largely trusted. From the macro-economic perspective, Asian giants, China and India, continue to enjoy GDP growth rates of 9.1% and 7.7% respectively in Q3 2011, while other significant markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong also witnessed GDP growth of 6.1% and 4.3% respectively…

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