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Friday, February 17, 2012 Britain’s biggest manufacturer, BAE Systems announced disappointing results for 2011, reporting a 7% drop in profits to £2bn. The results have been impacted by the retreat of the US army from Iraq and the loss of the tender to sell Typhoon fighter jets to India.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 China are beginning to feel the effects of the European recession and have lowered their growth target for 2012 from 8% to 7.5%. The manufacturing sector has slowed down with exports growing by only 7% in Q4 compared to 15% in the previous year. The Chinese property market is also showing signs of stagnation. This represents the lowest rate of growth for 20 years but may well allow China to balance its economy and tackle inflation. The Chinese will aim to maintain interest rates and the government can continue to provide a steady flow of credit to small businesses. Reports in the US also suggest that Chinese imports are no longer as competitively priced as they used to.
Friday, February 10, 2012 Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was taken to court over tax evasion charges. He was alleged to have received an undeclared bonus payment into an offshore account named after his dog. However, no charges were made against the Spurs manager as the HMRC failed to win the case, to the cost of £8m to the UK taxpayer.