Markets slump on recession fears
Share prices slumped for the first day in three as investors renewed concerns about the global recession. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell one per cent to 72.72, halting two days of gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 2.4 per cent to 7198.25 as the Japanese government said the country’s economy contracted at the fastest pace in 35 years. Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose just 0.2 per cent in New York yesterday afterJPMorgan Chase & Co. said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009. The FTSE 100 index opened 23.5 points lower at 3,671.00.
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John Lewis pays out 13% bonus despite fall in profits
John Lewis staff received a "real" bonus worth 13 per cent of their salary, down from the record 20 per cent they received last year, reported theGuardian. The payout comes as group sales for John Lewis and Waitrosestores rose 3 per cent to £6.97bn but pre-tax profits fell 26 per cent to £279.6m. The 69,000 John Lewis partners receive a reward worth seven weeks' salary in their next pay cheque. Chairman Charlie Mayfield used the announcement to take a swipe at the UK's banking system, saying that all John Lewis staff "from boardroom to the postroom" gets the same percentage reward.
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BT freezes workers’ pay
BT Group becomes the latest company to freeze the pay of its workforce, joining the ranks of companies like National Express, Tate & Lyle, bmiand Virgin Atlantic, reported The Times. It has yet to decide whether senior executives like CEO Ian Livingston will receive their bonuses this year. BT's shares have plummeted by more than 70 per cent in the past year as investors worry about shrinking profits and a rapidly growing pension-fund deficit. The CBI last week said that it expected the "overwhelming majority" of member companies to freeze pay this year.
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Exports slow despite weak pound
Exporters are struggling to take advantage of the weak pound as official figures showed a bigger than expected 4 per cent decline in exports, reported the Daily Telegraph. The rapid decline in key overseas markets was "graphically reflected" in the 16 per cent fall in exports to non-EU countries where the trade deficit reached a record £5.7bn. Exports to the EU rose 6 per cent, helped by the strength of the euro. Combined with this week's news that manufacturing output fell at its fastest pace in over 40 years, the figures increased concerns about Britain's economic outlook.
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Johnston Press ad sales plunge
The future of local newspaper publisher Johnston Press looked bleak as the company announced annual losses of £429m, reported theIndependent. The group - which owns newspapers like The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Evening Post, is struggling with a £477m "debt pile". As advertising sales plunged at the fastest rate in the company's history and revenues from newspaper sales fell, Johnston said the recession cast "significant doubt" on the publisher's ability to continue as a going concern. Johnston is currently negotiating the sale of its two Irish businesses Local Press Ltd and the Leinster Leader Group.
Google unveils targeted ads
Internet giant Google plans to start selling advertisements linked to web users' habits, reported the Wall Street Journal. While competitors already offer similar schemes, Google's will differ in that it will allow users to view and change what kind of ads they're sent online. Unless viewers opt out, Google will use their surfing habits to sort them into groups "such as veterinarians or cycling enthusiasts" and target ads accordingly. The company revealed Google Voice, a service that will allow users to link multiple phones to a single phone number, access voicemails online, transcribe users' voicemail and make the content searchable.
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...in brief..................
Roche buys Genentech and mobile companies share network
Pharmaceutical giant Roche ended eight months of discussions and agreed to buy the rest of Genentech Inc. after raising its offer to $95 a share, reported Bloomberg.com. The company's Avastin and Rituxan cancer drugs, have helped Roche grow faster than competitors Pfizer Inc. andGlaxoSmithKline Plc...........
Vodafone and O2 plan to combine their networks while T-Mobile,Orange and 3 may share theirs, reported the Guardian. The reorganisation would see the companies continuing to compete under their own names, but by sharing networks they could push mobile broadband into rural areas and eliminate some of the 51,000 base stations cluttering the country.........
Richest person in the world Microsoft founder Bill Gates has lost $18bn and is "getting by" with just $40bn thanks to the current economic crisis, reported the Times. Forbes' rich list published yesterday, shows the number of billionaires has shrunk from 1,125 to 793 people........
Investors rushed to sell government bonds to the Bank of England after it launched its first "reverse auction" yesterday, reported the Financial Times. The Bank was "overwhelmed" with offers to sell the bonds by some of the UKs largest financial groups, a sign the BOE's historic quantitative easing move was a success........
Senior executives at Lloyds controlled retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone could earn tens of millions of pounds in bonuses under a current restructuring plan, reported the Daily Telegraph. The plan is contained in a court document and proposes to incentivise current directors through an "exit value plan"........
The government's £2.3bn rescue fund for car-makers is open for business, reported the Independent. Eligibility is tied to low-carbon goals, and companies can apply for up to 75 per cent of the loan they receive to be underwritten by the taxpayer. Yesterday Toyota's staff agreed to work fewer hours and receive lower pay to avoid being laid off..........
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