Widows&Orphans'  Instablog

News for Portfolios

• Wall Street boosted by economic data
  Feb 27 2013 15:34 GMT
  US stocks rose in early activity as investors favoured equities tied closely to the global economy and sold off shares in defensive sectors. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 per cent to 1,500.51, in the first hour of trade in New York. All but three of the ten major industry measures...
• Target profits slip on weak holiday sales
  Feb 27 2013 14:22 GMT
  Target joined the list of US retailers that had a disappointing end-of-year shopping season, reporting sales and profits that missed expectations. The mass market discounter's net income for the quarter to February 3 fell 2 per cent from a year ago to $961m, delivering earnings per share of $1.47 that...
• Dubai governance institute appoints board
  Feb 27 2013 13:22 GMT
  Hawkamah, the Dubai International Financial Centre's corporate governance body, has appointed its first board. The move comes after the respected DIFC chief economist, Nasser Saidi, abruptly left the centre last year. The governance institute, founded in 2006, has faced an uphill struggle to improve corporate governance in the region, where...
• Weir Group tops recovering FTSE 100
  Feb 27 2013 09:42 GMT
  Engineer Weir Group topped a steadying FTSE 100 on Wednesday, after forecast-beating earnings from the maker of pumps and valves used in the resources sector. The company reported a 12 per cent rise in annual profit of £443m, ahead of consensus estimates of £434m. Strong demand from mining companies helped...
• Gulf rig safety was 'team effort', says BP
  Feb 27 2013 00:08 GMT
  Responsibility for safety on the Deepwater Horizon rig was shared between the companies involved in the project, a BP executive told the trial in New Orleans over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Lamar McKay, BP's US president at the time of the disaster, said that although the company...

Disclosure: I am long KSU, XIN, NOK, VHI, PCLN, ALSK, MO, ABBV, RAI, AAPL.