Monday morning business bulletin
London’s leading share index dived into the red once more today as overnight falls across Asia set the tone for what is expected to be another volatile week.
Persistent fears over a possible recession in America sent China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunging by 7.2%.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index also suffered in response to late Friday falls on Wall Street, dropping 2.6%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down by more than 4%.
In London, the FTSE 100 Index fell more than 90 points in the first half hour, although stocks clawed back some lost ground, helping keep the Footsie above the 5800 barrier.
Department store chain Beale painted a gloomy picture on trading today after it posted full-year losses and said it expected "another difficult year".
The firm, which operates 11 stores, said wider economic troubles and higher costs were likely to hit earnings until at least 2009.
Beale’s downbeat outlook came as it reported pre-tax losses of £1.4m for the year to November 3, down from profits of £324,000 the previous year.
It has already warned that this year’s trading will miss targets after a dire Christmas and today confirmed it was "extremely" cautious over prospects for the year ahead. Beale said like-for-like sales fell by 6.4% in the 11 weeks to January 19 compared with the same period the year before.
Continued demand from UK-based model railway and Scalextric fans ensured hobby firm Hornby reported a strong finish to 2007 trading today.
The group said it experienced "significant growth" in its UK market in the run-up to Christmas, while demand for its European brands was also strong.
Order intake and sales for the final quarter of its financial year - covering the period from January to March - are also expected to beat the strong levels experienced last year, the company added.
Hornby said it was confident that Scalextric products based on the Mercedes McLaren team and its driver Lewis Hamilton will continue to do well.
It has also secured the licence for a range of products based on the forthcoming James Bond movie.
The pound at 9am was US$1.9772 compared to US$1.9796 at the previous close, while the euro at 9am was £0.7422 compared to £0.7413 at the previous close.
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