Market Updates

UK Unemployment Rises to 17-year High; Greggs Surges 5%

Arthi Gupta
16 Mar, 2011
New York City

    The UK indexes slid and commodities declined and jobless count rose to the highest since 1994. The UK jobless claims fell unexpectedly but unemployment rate rose to 8%. Rolls-Royce secured Trent 900 engines contract from Asiana Airlines.

[R]4:00 PM London – The UK indexes slid and commodities declined and jobless count rose to the highest since 1994. The UK jobless claims fell unexpectedly but unemployment rate rose to 8%. Rolls-Royce secured Trent 900 engines contract from Asiana Airlines.[/R]

A fire at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant's fourth reactor sent radiation levels soaring but workers at the Fukushima nuclear facility have resumed efforts to prevent a meltdown at the earthquake-crippled plant after being forced to temporarily call off operations following a spike in radiation levels.

In London, FTSE 100 Index declined 24.75 or 0.43% to 5,670.60 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.6084.

UK Jobless Claims Drop

British jobless claims decreased unexpectedly in February to a two-year low as economic indicators suggest robust manufacturing and construction activity after severe winter.

However, unemployment reached its highest level since 1994.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell by 10,200 from January, the largest decrease since June 2010, to reach 1.45 million, the Office for National Statistics said. The claimant count total is the lowest since February 2009.

The unemployment rate for the three months to January was 8%, up 0.1 percentage point on the quarter. With an increase of 27,000 in the number of unemployed, the total unemployed reached 2.53 million, the largest since 1994.

The unemployment rate between the ages 16 to 24 rose by 0.8 percentage points to 20.6%, the highest since records began in 1992.

Rolls-Royce Wins Asiana Airlines Contract

Rolls-Royce said it won a contract for Trent 900 engines to power six Airbus A380 aircraft from Asiana Airlines. The order includes a long-term service agreement.

Asiana Airlines, based in Seoul, South Korea, will take delivery of these aircraft in 2014.

Gainers & Losers

Greggs plc surged 5.11% to 489.70 pence after the bakery retailer said pre-tax profit for 2010 rose 7.9% to £52.5 million, a record high from £48.8 million last year.

Six million customers a week helped the cheap cakes and sandwiches firm increase sales by 2.1% to £662 million and by 0.2% on a comparable stores basis.

Marston's Plc fell 0.64% to 92.55 pence after the brewer and pub operator said for the 23 weeks ended March 12 its managed pubs division Marston's Inns and Taverns, like-for-like sales grew 2.4% from the previous year, including like-for-like food sales growth of 4.7% and an increase of 1.5% in like-for-like wet sales.

Mecom Group plc declined 2.80% to 243.00 pence after the company engaged in the operation of content and consumer businesses in Europe said fiscal year 2010 revenue decreased 3.2% to €1,414.8 million from €1,461.6 million in the prior year. Loss for the year from continuing operations narrowed 60% to €50.5 million or 40.0 euro cents per share compared to loss of €124.9 million or 188.2 euro cents per share a year before.

Mitchells & Butlers Plc slumped 3.04% to 290.40 pence after the restaurants and pubs operator announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Adam Fowle. The company named non-executive director Jeremy Blood as interim chief.

Witan Investment Trust Plc dipped 0.02% to 483.80 pence after the investment company reported fiscal year 2010 profit fell 15.5% to £177 million or 89.32 pence per share from £209.5 million or 98.90 pence per share a year earlier due to lower gains on investment.

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