News
ROYAL Mail’s profits surged 60 per cent this year, ahead of the government’s planned privatisation of the postal service.
The company today announced pre-tax profits of £324m for the year ended 31 March 2013, compared to £201m in 2012.
BURBERRY’S revenues rose eight per cent to £2bn this year, with growth particularly strong in China.
Nearly 90 per cent of Asia Pacific revenue came from retail, with China and Hong Kong delivering double-digit sales growth in the year.
SECURITY firm G4S today announced that its chief executive Nick Buckles will step down on 31 May, following a string of high-profile setbacks and a profit warning which dented investor confidence.
TELECOMS company Vodafone today unveiled a 4.2 per cent decline in group revenue for the year, due to challenging economic and regulatory conditions in Europe.
Group revenue fell to £44.4bn and EBITDA was down 3.1 per cent to £13.3bn.
BRITISH retailer Marks & Spencer today announced a 14 per cent decline in profits for the year, with a struggling clothes and homewares division negating growth in food.
London’s blue chip index reaches its highest level for thirteen years as gold and silver prices lose their lustre
THERE is a strange feeling in parts of the City, one that feels suspiciously like euphoria. No wonder: the stock market keeps going up, with the FTSE 100 hitting its highest level since 2000 yesterday.
PRIME Minister David Cameron was forced to rely on Labour Party support last night to defeat a rebel Tory amendment that threatened to derail legislation for same sex marriage.
SIR ROGER Carr has called on politicians to stop moralising about tax evasion because it is predominantly a legal matter.
APPLE has called for comprehensive reform of the US corporate tax system as it faces up to claims of using offshore subsidiaries to dodge billions in payments.
SAVERS and firms with big bank deposits could still get a degree of protection when lenders collapse, despite having more money than the insured limit, the Bank of England’s Paul Tucker said yesterday.
THE EUROPEAN Commission’s investigation into allegations of oil price-fixing has widened, after revelations that a number of trading houses including Glencore have been asked to submit information.
THE FINANCIAL transaction tax (FTT) planned in 11 EU countries will harm investment and competitiveness across Europe, TheCityUK’s Chris Cummings warned at a dinner hosted by Societe General last night.
NEARLY all of the homes planned for the first phase of the Battersea Power Station development have been sold after “phenomenal interest” from buyers, its owners said yesterday.
SHARES in FirstGroup plunged 30 per cent yesterday as the rail and bus firm confirmed a £615m discounted rights issue and the departure of chairman Martin Gilbert.
BRITAIN needs a leaner and more efficient manufacturing sector if the country wants to increase exports and boost the struggling economy, business minister Michael Fallon will argue in a speech today.
GERT ZONNEVELD PANMURE GORDON
YAHOO has confirmed the $1.1bn (£722m) purchase of the social blogging website Tumblr, with chief executive Marissa Mayer pledging not to “screw it up”.
BUDGET carrier Ryanair’s expansion throughout Europe has delivered a 13 per cent rise in annual profits.
Ryanair yesterday posted record post-tax profits of €569m (£480.7m), on revenues up 13 per cent to €4.88bn.
KAZAKHMYS yesterday broke its silence on the takeover battle surrounding ENRC, saying it would consider a potential cash-and-share buyout bid for its rival, in which it owns a 26 per cent stake.
THE CHAIRMAN of HSBC’s North American operations is stepping down and will not seek re-election as a non-executive director at Friday’s annual general meeting, the bank said yesterday.
NEAL BRANSTON
BT
Yes, I think the rally might continue for the next couple of months. Businesses are doing better and introducing new services. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
VODAFONE has pulled out of the bidding to operate BT’s forthcoming mobile network, leaving O2 as the frontrunner to win the potentially lucrative contract.
APPLE may have seen its share price tumble in recent months, but it remains by far the world’s most valuable brand, according to research released today.
THE COMMITTEE overseeing a bidding war for embattled PC manufacturer Dell has knocked back activist investor Carl Icahn’s request to review the firm’s books.
SNOOZEBOX, the FTSE listed portable hotel chain, yesterday said it had parted company with founder and former chief executive Robert Breare, sending its share price tumbling further.
PACTERA Technology International said yesterday that Blackstone Group, together with the company’s management, made a $680.3m non-binding proposal to take China’s largest technology outsourcing firm private.
LABOUR yesterday lashed out at Ofgem for taking too long to address gas price-fixing allegations, equating the scandal to the one that hit the oil industry last week.
FTSE-250 clothing retailer SuperGroup, the group behind the popular Superdry brand, yesterday said it had appointed Canaccord Genuity as joint broker to the group.
A TENTH of Italy’s industrial orders were lost between March 2012 and March 2013, according to statistics revealed yesterday.
THE BANK of England’s belief that inflation will be back on target by 2015 is too optimistic, a group of economists said yesterday.
A LEADING indicator of Japan’s economic health struck its highest reading since late 2011 in March, according to data released by the country’s Economic and Social Research Institute.
THE SECURITIES Industry and Financial Markets Association (Sifma) yesterday named veteran politician and ex-Republican senator Judd Gregg as its new chief executive officer. Sifma also made chief executive Kenneth Bentsen president.
INVESTMENT bank Goldman Sachs Group yesterday set out plans to sell its remaining stake in giant lender the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).
STANDARD Chartered yesterday revealed it is buying rival bank Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit in India, expanding the scope of its Asian operations even further.
GENERAL Electric is set to get a $6.5bn dividend from its financial unit GE Capital as part of a plan to reduce the size of the business.
ASTRAZENECA is closing in on a site for its new $500m (£327.7m) home in Cambridge, with a biomedical park just south of the English city the most likely site, say property industry sources.
TECHNOLOGY, media, and telecoms companies continued to shore up demand for office space in the City in the first quarter of the year, according to research published today by Colliers International.
LEGAL & General Property (LGP) has expanded its presence in the leisure sector after snapping up 27 Marston’s pubs for around £70m.
BIRD & Bird has agreed to let the whole of Great Portland Estate’s 12-14 New Fetter Lane offices, the developer said yesterday, scoring its largest pre-let to date.
UKRAINIAN billionaire industrialist Viktor Pinchuk is suing two of his compatriots in London’s High Court, saying they failed to hand over an iron ore business for which he paid $143m (£94m).
L CAPITAL, the private equity arm of luxury giant LVMH, is understood to be among a number of private equity firms eyeing a stake in fashion retailer Joules.
WARBURTONS yesterday announced it has snapped up garlic bread maker Giles Foods in a bid to diversify its offering.
GOLD miner Randgold Resources saw its share price fall two per cent yesterday morning, following an announcement that it had entered into a $200m (£132m) unsecured revolving credit facility.
Dublin-headquartered oil and gas explorer San Leon Energy yesterday announced that its exploration director Dr John Buggenhagen has stepped down with immediate effect.
Aim-listed gold explorer Aureus Mining yesterday announced the launch of a feasibility study for its new gold project in Liberia, with production aimed to start in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Shares in student accommodation provider GCP Student Living began trading yesterday on the London Stock Exchange’s Specialist Funds Market after raising £70m through its oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO) last week, beating its initial £
ROYALTY Pharma yesterday raised its hostile bid for Elan to $12.50 per share and heaped pressure on shareholders, saying it will withdraw the bid if they approve a series of defensive transactions announced by the Irish drug firm.
