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Crash, bang, wallop! Every sector takes a hit
Evening Standard24 Oct 2008
Banking
Shares in HSBC and Standard Chartered, which both specialise in lending in developing countries, crashed today as the economic crisis spread.
Countries ranging from Belarus and South Korea, to Argentina and Turkey have seen western investors pull their money out in trillions of dollars this week.
That has led to grave concerns that such countries will face economic catastrophe in the coming days and weeks. Standard Chartered and HSBC missed much of the subprime mortgage-related crisis that hammered other British banks because
of their focus in other parts of the world. Now it seems to be their turn to feel the heat.
Transport
Volvo today came up with some of the worst figures of the global recession yet. In the third quarter of last year it took orders in Europe for 42,000 trucks. In the same three months this year, it took 115. With countries heading into recession, haulage firms and big businesses are not buying new lorries. Peugeot Citroen also warned of big cuts in production.
Meanwhile, National Express today fell victim to the crisis in the City. It canned its Dot2Dot airport minibus service after finding few customers in the City were using it. Meanwhile, revenue growth on its train services into Liverpool Street is slowing. Air France/KLM, Europe's biggest airline, issued a profits warning, sending its shares down 10 per cent.
Retail
John Lewis reported a fall in sales for a fifth consecutive week. Takings at its department stores across the country fell 7.6 per cent last week compared with a year ago as shoppers felt the pinch. Peter Jones, in the heart of the Chelsea bonus belt, was down nearly 19 per cent.
Even John Lewis in Oxford Street, which has been traditionally cushioned by tourist spending, was down 7.4 per cent. The Kingston branch, the favoured destination of Surrey's well-to-do, was down almost 16 per cent. The falls came a day after official government figures showed that High Street sales tumbled last month.
Consumer goods
Electronics giant Sony halved its profit forecasts because cash-strapped shoppers have stopped buying its cameras and flat-screen TVs.
Its shares crashed 14 per cent and triggered worries about other Japanese technology companies.
The Japanese maker of Bravia LCD TV sets had already warned on profits recently, and now analysts are predicting there will be a third profit warning soon, as consumers keep their wallets firmly shut.
South Korea's Samsung today reported its biggest drop in profits for three years this morning as demand for its microchips, flat screens and mobile phones fell.
