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UK manufacturing: Figures showed a surprise fall in manufacturing activity last month. The CIPS/Markit survey of purchasing managers in manufacturing — where a reading above 50 indicates expansion and below 50 indicates contraction — fell from 50.8 in July to 49.7 in August. The July figures were also revised downwards to just 50.2.
UK mortgage approvals: The number of mortgages approved for house purchase broke through the 50,000 mark for the first time since April 2008 in July. A total of 50,123 loans were approved for people buying a property, the sixth consecutive monthly increase in the Bank of England figures. Mortgage repayments outstripped new lending for the first time since records began during July, with homeowners repaying £418 million more than was advanced during the month.
French factories: The French manufacturing sector continued to improve in August. The Purchasing Managers’ Index increased to 50.8 in August from 48.1 in the previous month, a report from the CDAF and Markit Economics said.
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German jobless: The unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.3 per cent in August as experts said that it might soon surge when job subsidies run out. Official data showed that the number of people unemployed rose by 9,000 people from July to a total of 3.47 million on an adjusted basis.
German factories: The Markit/BME Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 49.2 in August from 45.7 in July. This was the highest for twelve months, but still below the 50 mark, which indicates expansion.
Eurozone factories: Manufacturing in the countries which share the euro picked up in August. The eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index hit a 14-month high in August of 48.2 points, well above the 46.3 seen in July. This figure still represents a contraction.
Eurozone jobless: Unemployment in the eurozone hit a ten-year high in July. In the 16 nations using the single currency, 15.09 million people were unemployed in July, 167,000 more than in June.
US factories: The US manufacturing sector grew for the first time in 19 months in August. The Institute for Supply Management said that its index of national factory activity rose to 52.9 in August, expanding for the first time since January last year. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector.
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US pending home sales: The National Association of Realtors said that — based on contracts signed in July — its pending home sales index rose 3.2 per cent to 97.6, the highest level since June 2007. Pending home sales contracts have now risen for a record six straight months.
US construction: Spending fell 0.2 per cent overall in July to its lowest rate since February 2004, but private residential construction spending was up 2.3 per cent, the largest rise since September.
Bank of America: America’s biggest bank is considering paying off a $20 billion (£12.3 billion) chunk of the $45 billion it took from the Troubled Asset Relief Programme, raising the possibility that the bank will shake off the attentions of the new pay czar. It is also discussing with the Treasury a fee of as much as $500 million to cancel a government guarantee on $118 billion of the bank’s assets.
Financial crackdown: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned yesterday of a potential crackdown on the practice known as “spoofing” which it said could be market abuse. The FSA said that it has been notified by the London Stock Exchange of traders placing orders to give an artificial impression of an intention to buy or sell shares.
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Nomura: The Japanese bank has agreed terms to rent new offices at Watermark Place, a development in the City of London, from Oxford Properties, a division of the Ontario pension fund. It will move 4,000 staff out of existing offices next year. It has taken a 20-year lease, paying £45 a sq ft for the best space, and has negotiated a rent-free period of just over four years.
Knight Frank: Some million-pound plus house sales are achieving record prices that are level with those last seen at the peak of the market in some streets in London, the estate agency said. Properties were selling for sums 15 per cent higher than in December 2008, it said.
Real Estate Opportunities: The Irish investor is looking for a joint-venture partner to help fund the development of the Battersea Power Station site in London. It submitted a planning application last month for 3,700 new homes, 1.5 million sq ft of office floorspace and 500,000 sq ft of retail, restaurants and leisure facilities. The value of the land has fallen by 15 per cent in the last six months.
Madoff property: The US Marshals Service has put Madoff’s 3,014 sq ft property just east of the Hamptons on the market this week to help to pay back investors who lost out in his epic fraud. They also plan to enlist brokers to find buyers for a Manhattan apartment and a Palm Beach estate once owned by the financier-turned-felon.
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Starbucks: The coffee chain is taking full control of its French operations. Starbucks Coffee EMEA and Starbucks Coffee International — the coffee chain’s subsidiaries — signed a deal with Sigla of Spain, its joint venture partner, which will give them full operating control of the French business. Starbucks had a 50 per cent stake in its French operations prior to this latest deal. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. Starbucks —which operates at more than 50 locations in France — said that the deal should close at the end of the month.
British American Tobacco: Jean-Marc Levy will be promoted to group marketing director on January 1, the company said. He will succeed Jimmi Rembiszewski, who is retiring, the company said.
General Motors: RHJ Holdings, the Belgian industrial conglomerate, has increased its offer for the European business of General Motors in a move that raises the stakes for the control of Vauxhall. The Belgian group said yesterday that it had increased its cash offer by €25 million (£21 million) to €300 million in return for a 50.1 per cent controlling stake in the car maker.
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Defence spending: The UK’s leading defence companies — including BAE Systems and Thales UK — made a pre-emptive attack against anticipated budget cuts yesterday as they released a report highlighting the beneficial impact its members have outside their traditional role of supporting the Armed Forces and protecting British troops.
Boeing: Scott Carson, the head of the company’s commercial airplanes division, is retiring and will be replaced by Jim Albaugh. The news comes four days after Boeing said that the delayed 787 Dreamliner would make its first flight this year.
Car sales: The US Government’s “cash for clunkers” plan for buyers of new cars sent sales soaring in August. Ford sold 181,826 cars and trucks, up 11 per cent on July and 17.2 per cent higher than last August. Sales at General Motors rose to 246,479, up 30 per cent on July but still 20 per cent down on last August.
Schering-Plough: A federal court in Newark, New Jersey, has rejected its request for a $473 million (£292 million) tax refund related to the drugmaker’s efforts to avoid paying taxes on $690 million in overseas profits it brought back to the US from offshore subsidiaries. Income generated overseas that is reinvested into a company’s international operations is generally taxed at a lower rate than profit brought back to the US.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals: Annual pre-tax profits at the company, which operates in the veterinary sector, rose 38 per cent to £16.1 million. The majority of the markets in which it trades continue to show growth, the Staffordshire-based company added.
Evraz Group: The Russian steelmaker reported a first-half net loss of almost $1 billion (£618 million) largely because of lower steel prices and writedowns, the company said. The loss — which compares with a year-earlier profit of $2 billion — was greater than the average $330 million net loss forecast by analysts. Steelmakers in Russia, the world’s fourth-largest producer, have suffered from a decline in orders from the construction and automotive sectors.
InterContinental Hotels Group:The Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza operator is to donate $1 million (£616,000) to Oxford University to fund research into environmental conservation. The group said that it would use the research to help to inform its future hotel design and operations.
Bespoke Hotel Group: The privately owned hotel operator will manage Ten Manchester Street, a 45-room boutique hotel due to open in October in Marylebone, London, under the auspices of City & Country Hotels, a new vehicle set up by Arab Investments.
Paddy Power: The Irish bookmaker has appointed Jane Lighting, the former chief executive of Five, the TV channel, as a non-executive director.
France T?l?visions: Brussels has launched an inquiry into a €450 million (£395 million) subsidy for the French state broadcaster, amid suspicion that it could break competition law. The grant was ordered by President Sarkozy to compensate for the phasing out of advertising on the public service network.
Vivendi: One of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies reported that its net profit slipped 3 per cent in the first half as the economic slowdown hit earnings at its core music and mobile telecoms businesses. The Paris-based company — whose holdings include Universal Music Group — said net profit in the six months ending June 30 was €1.19 billion (£1 billion), down from €1.22 billion a year earlier.
Rosneft: Russia’s biggest oil company reported a 63 per cent drop in profits in the second quarter as oil prices tumbled from last summer’s high. Net profits dropped to $1.6 billion (£990 million) from $4.3 billion a year before, Rosneft said in a statement.
Majestic Wine: The wine warehouse operator has reduced its minimum purchase from 12 bottles to six after a trial at seven of its 151 stores had a positive impact on sales.
Safestore: The UK’s biggest self-storage company said that demand for space picked up in the three months to July, a further sign of activity in the housing market. Safestore — which has 94 sites in the UK — reported higher levels of enquiries and new lets. It expects further improvements in the coming months.
Serco: The international service company announced that it has signed three five-year contracts with the UK Department for Work and Pensions to be a prime contractor delivering the Government’s Flexible New Deal initiative to support jobseekers in returning to and remaining in work. The North Wales and West Midlands contracts are each expected to have a value to Serco over their life of £100 million to £125 million. The Greater Manchester deal should have a value of between £200 million and £250 million.
EBay: The online auction company has sold a 65 per cent stake in Skype to a private investment group in a deal that values the internet telephony business at $2.75 billion (£1.75 billion). EBay bought Skype in 2005 for a price that exceeded $3.1 billion. The company will get $1.9 billion in cash from investors led by Silver Lake, the Silicon Valley private equity firm, and will retain a 35 per cent stake in the internet telephony business.
Sony: The Japanese electronics company has agreed to sell its main television factory for the Americas to a Taiwanese company, as it struggles to cut costs and stem massive losses. Sony said that it would sell 90 per cent of its stake in Sony Baja California, which is located in Tijuana, Mexico, to Hon Hai Precision Industry. The move is not expected to affect its balance sheet, the company said, but is part of continuing efforts to cut costs by outsourcing manufacturing.
Nokia Siemens Networks: Simon Beresford-Wylie, its chief executive, is to be replaced by Rajeev Suri on October 1. Mr Beresford-Wylie joined Nokia in 1998 and has headed the Finnish-German joint venture since its formation in April 2007.
SkyEurope: The airline became the latest budget carrier to collapse when it cancelled its flights from Manchester and Luton airports yesterday with immediate effect. Thousands of passengers were left stranded as the low-cost Slovakian carrier collapsed and said that it could not guarantee refunds to ticket-holders.
British Energy: The company’s Hinkley Point B7 nuclear reactor was brought back to service on Saturday, while Hinkley Point B8 is operating at low capacity for refuelling, British Energy said yesterday. A spokesman for the company would not say when the refuelling at Hinkley Point B8 would finish. Both units have a capacity of 610 megawatts. Hinkley Point B7 was taken out of service in late May.