Yes, for now
Greek agreement
The eurozone and Greece appear to have come to an agreement that will see the bailout offered to Greece extended for a further four months, with the eurozone's finance ministers ratifying the terms of the bailout on Tuesday. But the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, two of the three institutions that make up the troika, the bête noir of the Greeks, expressed reservations about the list of reforms put forward by Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, saying they did not all adhere to the current programme. There are also concerns over short-term funding as the next €7.2bn tranche from the troika is not due until Greece delivers a full list of reforms in April and implements them.
Record breaker
FTSE flies
The UK's blue-chip index has finally joined the party that its fellow global indices have been enjoying for some time. In closing at 6950 on Tuesday 24 February the FTSE 100 finally set a new record closing high, banishing the memory of the dot-com boom 15 years after setting its previous record. The FTSE 100 has been the laggard among global indices over the past year, which has seen the likes of the Dow Jones and Nasdaq repeatedly set new record highs and European indices have latterly joined in the fun after the ECB announced its quantitative easing programme.
Productivity puzzle
UK problem
The productivity of the average UK worker has stagnated over the past few years despite the growing pace of economic recovery, and could hamper growth in the coming months. That's the view of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which this week scaled back its prediction for GDP growth this year from 2.7 per cent to 2.6 per cent, citing the lack of progress in productivity in the UK. Indeed, the productivity gap between the UK and its fellow industrialised nations is higher than it has been since 1992 and this is likely to hold back wage growth and economic wellbeing.
Everything is awesome
Lego leaps
From almost going bust earlier this century, the turnaround at Danish toy maker Lego has been phenomenal. This week consultant Brand Finance said that Lego had overtaken Ferrari as the world's most powerful brand, news that coincided nicely with bumper full-year results. Bolstered by the success of the Lego Movie, the company enjoyed a 15 per cent rise in both sales and profits in 2014, confirming its position as the world's number one toy maker. And there is potential for further growth, especially in Asia, where Lego is only just starting to make a significant impact. The company estimates it has made 600bn parts since its foundation in the 1940s.
Morrison gets its man
Potts parachutes in
Supermarket group Morrison has found its replacement for departed chief executive Dalton Philips in the form of former Tesco executive David Potts. He is to join the group in the middle of March on an £850,000 annual salary charged with the task of reinvigorating the Morrison business at a time when it is under extreme pressure from discounters snapping at its ankles and fierce competition in the mid-market segment. Mr Potts cut his teeth over a long career at Tesco, where he rose from shelf stacker in 1973 to become firstly retail director in charge of UK stores and logistics, then head of its Asian business before he departed in 2011 to become a consultant.
Floating higher
Mid-cap focus
The recent burst of initial public offerings in the mid-cap sphere goes on. This week budget airline Wizz Air, saw its shares start trading in London after pricing its float at £11.50 a share, giving the eastern- and central Europe-focused airline a market capitalisation of around £600m. Wizz's directors will be happy with the result, which priced the company significantly higher than they first envisaged and marks a successful second attempt to float after its first UK take-off was aborted last summer. Wizz joins the likes of DFS, HSS, Revolution Bars and John Laing Group in the mid-cap range who have all either floated or signalled their intention to do so in recent weeks.
