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Saudi Arabia unveils $385bn spending plan
Saudi Arabia plans to build schools, hospitals, housing and other infrastructure projects as part of a five-year plan budgeted at $385bn, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported. Ageing King Abdullah is under pressure to create jobs and build housing as the population grows and unemployment rises, hitting 10.5 percent last year. Two-thirds of Saudi nationals are under 30 years old. The biggest Arab economy and world’s top oil exporter, the kingdom’s 1.44-trillion Saudi riyal ($385bn) plan exceeds its previous five-year development plan by 67 percent, SPA said. It was announced by Economy and Planning Minister Khalid Bin Mohamm... -
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Morgan Sindall says construction recession not over
British construction group Morgan Sindall said growing demand for office buildings was helping to offset the impact of government spending cuts on its business, although the construction recession was not over yet. “The commercial side is growing, but let’s not over exaggerate – it’s growing a bit but not as quickly as governments are spending less,” Executive Chairman John Morgan told reporters after the construction group reported a three percent fall in first-half profit. Morgan, who co-founded Morgan Lovell in 1977 before it combined with William Sindall in 1994, said public sector work now accounts for about 50 percent of the g... -
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Astra pays $198m to settle US Seroquel claims
AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $198m to settle some 17,500 US personal injury claims related to its schizophrenia and bipolar disorder drug Seroquel, the company has announced. The top-selling medicine, which had worldwide sales of $4.9bn in 2009, accounting for 15 percent of group revenue, has been subject to long-running legal claims after being linked to an increased risk of diabetes. The average payout of $11,300 per claim is modest by comparison with some past medicine settlements and AstraZeneca investors took the news in their stride. A further 2,900 cases have been dismissed. The group did not have a provision for Seroquel settlements ... -
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UK taxpayer moves into black on bank stakes
British taxpayers are sitting on a 3.5 billion pound ($5.6 billion) paper profit on its stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds after both swung back to profit, driving their shares higher. Britain’s profit could be more than five times that amount — potentially bringing in much needed income for the cash-strapped UK government. “It now looks like the government’s huge bank bailout, far from costing the taxpayer money, will yield a 19 billion pound profit,” said Doug McWilliams from the Center for Economics and Business Research. His estimate was based on shares rising in line with nominal GDP and the stakes being sold ove... -
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Hungary to struggle without IMF
Hungary hopes to emulate the few countries that have spurned IMF aid and emerge from crisis on their own, but it is much more likely to follow the example of other crisis-hit EU states and be forced back to austerity. It is no Malaysia or Turkey, the first of which rejected the International Monetary Fund’s demand it open its economy in the 1990s Asia crisis and the latter weaned itself off IMF backup in 2008 after enacting its own Fund-like fiscal plan. It more resembles Latvia or Greece, whose high public debt, large budget deficits and dependence on foreign financing eventually overruled their opposition to the Fund’s usual diet of bel... -
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FTSE steady as results mixed; rate decision awaited
Britain’s top share index was little changed early on Thursday as strong results from insurers were offset by disappointing numbers from Barclays and Unilever By 0811 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 3.01 points, or 0.1 percent, lower at 5,383.15 after it ended 0.2 percent lower on Wednesday. Investors are waiting for an interest rate decision at 1100 GMT but it is a near certainty that the Bank of England will not change its monetary policy stance. Barclays shares dipped 2 percent as analysts said its investment bank performance was resilient but uninspiring, costs rose faster than expected and Spanish bad debts remain a worry. Results from c... -
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Versace to get 2010 China sales boost
Italian fashion house Versace expects to post higher sales in 2010 on the back of its restructuring and China’s growing appetite for luxury goods, its chief executive said. In an interview with Reuters, Gian Giacomo Ferraris said he remained confident about a return to profitability in 2011, thanks to a more efficient distribution network and brand repositioning. “We are optimistic about 2010, we have raised our full-year revenue target to 280 million euros from 270 million euros and are on track to meet it,” the 53-year-old Ferraris said. Versace, whose evening gowns have been worn by film stars Drew Barrymore and Penelope Cruz a... -
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Next says consumer slowdown will be modest
Consumer spending in Britain is likely to remain constrained for the foreseeable future, but any slowdown in demand is likely to be modest, the chief executive of fashion retailer Next told reporters. Simon Wolfson also said in a telephone interview that the group was stepping up spending on standalone homewares stores, where new shops are beating sales targets by about 20 percent. “Sales are going to be difficult for the foreseeable future,” he said, after Next reported a 1.5 percent drop in first-half underlying retail sales. “But we’re talking about a modest slowdown rather than an Armageddon scenario,” he said, adding there woul... -
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Romania meets IMF, EU conditions for bailout deal
Romania has met IMF and EU conditions for continuing its €20bn bailout programme, offering some reassurance to investors concerned about the country’s deep and prolonged recession. IMF mission chief Jeffrey Franks has said no major policy changes were needed after the latest review of Romania, which has slashed public spending including wages and raised value added tax to comply with the terms of the deal. Romania’s economy contracted more than seven percent last year and is still mired in recession and dependent on the bailout deal, which includes aid from the IMF, EU and World Bank. “They have a bit more lenient attitude, probably s... -
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Outsourcer Mouchel sees tough trading on govt cuts
British outsourcer Mouchel Plc says it expects its full year results to be at the lower end of expectations as government spending cuts create a difficult trading environment. Mouchel, which provides maintenance for highways in Britain, said that over the past year it secured £650m ($1bn) of new contracts but a lack of clarity over the coalition government’s austerity measures weighed on the outlook for the coming year. “Trading remains challenging in some areas given the uncertainty that exists in many public sector markets. We expect this situation to continue until the government’s announcement of the spending review … and probabl...
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