Watch out
Apple launch
US tech giant Apple has redrawn the rules in computing and mobile communications enough times in the past to give it the benefit of the doubt, but can it make a success of blurring the lines between fashion and computing. The most eagerly awaiting product yet in the nascent 'wearable' computing sector is upon us with the launch of the Apple watch, details of which were made public this week. A sleek, style-led wristwatch that also allows users to check email and track their health, Apple is hoping to persuade devotees to part with anything from $350 to $17,000 for something which may rapidly become obsolete, but there are few willing to bet against the company publicly yet.
Budget breather
Last chance
Improving economic conditions could potentially open the way for the chancellor to offer a pre-election give away in next week's Budget. Wednesday is George Osborne's last set piece before May's election in which to both convince the electorate that he can be trusted to continue attacking the deficit but also to offer some hope of respite following years of squeezed pay and tough austerity. Thankfully for him, the recent economic revival coupled with virtually non-existent inflation has combined to offer him the opportunity to loosen the thumbscrews a little. All eyes are on you, George.
Banks battered
HSBC, Barclays in firing line
There is little respite for the UK's banks at the moment. Various board members of embattled lender HSBC were hauled over the coals by MPs this week as the public accounts committee grilled them over the tax avoidance scandals at its Swiss subsidiary. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver was grilled over his tax arrangements, which included non-dom status in Hong Kong and his own Swiss bank account. Meanwhile, the chairman of Barclays' remuneration committee, Sir John Sunderland, this week faced calls for his departure from the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum for overseeing "another year of still unacceptably high pay" in 2014.
Challengers
New wave
The latest 'challenger' bank to list on the London market soared on its debut this week. Aldermore, which was launched in 2009 by former Barclays man Philip Monks backed by private equity group AnaCap, listed at 192p a share on Tuesday and saw its shares immediately jump 10 per cent in early conditional trading. The bank grew net lending by 42 per cent last year to £4.8bn and expects similar growth this year. Its successful float came in the wake of strong results from another of the new wave of challenger banks, Virgin Money, which doubled annual profits in 2014 after strong growth in lending, deposits and mortgages.
Frack attack
Support shown
Despite the slump in the oil price there is still interest in the UK's potential as a shale oil and gas producer. This was confirmed this week when Swiss chemicals giant Ineos farmed in to shale acreage across the North of England and Scotland held by Aim-traded IGas Energy. The £30m buy in was accompanied by a pledge to spend £138m over the next few years on appraisal and development drilling across seven licence areas which IGas retains a stake in. Last year Ineos indicated its intention to spend £1bn on developing the UK shale gas sector as a complement to its existing chemicals assets in the UK which include the Grangemouth petrochemicals refinery in Scotland.
China crisis?
Slowdown fears
China's leadership might have to brace itself for a possible undershoot of even its reduced growth expectations. Fresh from paring back growth forecasts to around 7 per cent for 2015, the latest data from the Chinese economy indicated a sharp slowdown in activity. Industrial production grew by 6.8 per cent in the opening two months of the year, but this is the slowest growth rate since records began in 1995. Accompanied by weaker retail sales and business investment and further signs of deterioration in the housing market, this added to the sense of a sharp slowdown in the domestic Chinese economy. But China watchers suggested that this could simply presage further stimulus for the Chinese economy.
