Game Group shares fall as trading gets worse July 2, 2009 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group yesterday posted an accelerating decline in sales, only partly offset by better profit margins, sending its shares as much as 11 per cent lower. The UK-based group, which trades from 1,367 stores, concessions and franchises in nine European countries and Australia, said like-for-like sales fell 15.4 per cent in the [...]
New rules for US bank buyouts July 2, 2009 Private equity houses hoping to invest in troubled banks will be governed by strict rules under new guidelines proposed by US bank regulators yesterday. Private equity firms will have to maintain higher-than-usual capital levels and provide assurances that a healthier institution could provide support for the weaker bank if it runs into difficulty.
London Stock Exchange tariff change sends its shares lower July 2, 2009 SHARES in London Stock Exchange (LSE) shed 5.5 per cent to close at 663.5p yesterday, as investors reacted to Wednesday’s announcement that it will introduce a new tariff to attempt to improve trading. In new chief executive Xavier Rolet’s latest break with the old regime, the LSE is cutting its fees by roughly nine per [...]
IMF to begin discussions on its delayed review of China’s economy next week July 2, 2009 THE International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board will discuss a long-delayed assessment of China’s economy on 8 July after it revised rules on how it assesses the foreign-exchange policies of member countries. Fund spokeswoman Caroline Atkinson said an IMF staff mission had concluded the China economic review on 10 June and it would now go to [...]
Game Group shares fall as trading gets worse July 2, 2009 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group yesterday posted an accelerating decline in sales, only partly offset by better profit margins, sending its shares as much as 11 per cent lower. The UK-based group, which trades from 1,367 stores, concessions and franchises in nine European countries and Australia, said like-for-like sales fell 15.4 per cent in the [...]
Swine flu to hit 100,000 a day July 2, 2009 Swine flu cases could reach more than 100,000 a day in the UK by the end of August, health secretary Andy Burnham warned yesterday. Burnham said the country had moved beyond containment and had now entered the “treatment” phase of the H1N1 virus.
I’LL BE BROKE July 2, 2009 ARNOLD Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, has declared that the US state is in the grip of a “fiscal emergency”. California has been battered by the recession and faces a budget deficit of $23.4bn (£14.5bn). Schwarzenegger has ordered several state offices to close for three days a month until June 2010 to cut costs.
Moody’s strips Ireland of its remaining coveted triple-A rating on grim outlook July 2, 2009 MOODY’S yesterday stripped Ireland of its last AAA credit rating and warned Prime Minister Brian Cowen he needed to inflict more fiscal pain on his recession-wracked country or risk a further costly downgrade. Cowen has put Ireland on a five-year austerity diet after a debt-fuelled property binge transformed the former “Celtic Tiger” economy into one [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 2, 2009 FSSCThe Financial Services Skills Council has appointed Simon Ellis to lead an independent review of its future role and strategy. Ellis joins from Fidelity’s multi-manager business, where he was a managing director. He was also previously head of UK retail at AXA Investment Managers and was until recently a board director of the Investment Managers [...]
F&C enters acquisition arena July 2, 2009 F&C Asset Management will today become an independent listed fund manager, as Friends Provident doles out its 52 per cent stake to shareholders. The fund manager will now join fellow acquisition-hungry listed funds such as Henderson and Aberdeen, which was itself linked with a bid for F&C earlier in the year.