Primark “performing well” in tough market September 13, 2010 Clothing chain Primark has continued to perform strongly despite the tough consumer environment and expects annual sales growth of six per cent, owner Associated British Foods (ABF) said. The strength of sterling against the dollar helped the chain when goods were bought in the dollars because of a favourable exchange rate, the company said. However [...]
BAE looking to offload US unit September 13, 2010 British defence company BAE Systems said it had hired advisors to sell its Platform Solutions business. “BAE Systems confirms that it has engaged Wells Fargo and JP Morgan to advise on strategic options with regard to the Platform Solutions business, including a possible sale,” the company said in a statement. “There can be no certainty [...]
BP: Spill claims will be under $20bn September 13, 2010 BP believes compensation claims related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be less than the $20bn the oil giant has put into an independent claims fund, analysts at Citigroup said, following a meeting with incoming Chief Executive Bob Dudley. “He added that given current estimates of claims the $20bn (£12.9bn) Independent Claim Fund [...]
Indian shares soar on industial output rise September 13, 2010 Indian shares have surged to their highest level in more than two and a half years after new figures revealed that its industrial output jumped faster than expected. The data showed that July’s factory output was up 13.8 per cent compared with a year ago. India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 322 points to 19,122 – [...]
British businesses fear doube-dip is looming September 13, 2010 British businesses believe the country could be headed for a double-dip recession, according to a survey from accountants and business advisors BDO LLP. BDO’s optimism index – which reflects how businesses expect trading to develop two quarters ahead – tumbled to 93.1 in August from 95.5 in July, reaching levels not seen since the deepest [...]
Historic deal to fuel bank frenzy September 12, 2010 A GLOBAL flurry of bank rights issues, asset disposals and other realignments could be on the cards in the wake of the new Basel III rules that were revealed last night. Global regulators thrashed out a deal to impose a seven per cent capital holding on all banks to cushion them from future market shocks. [...]
Deutsche in €9.8bn share sale September 12, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bank revealed details of its planned €9.8bn (£8.1bn) money-raising scheme yesterday, which will pay for the purchase of retail bank Deutsche Postbank and bolster its own capital position before the introduction of the Basel III rules. The €9.8bn share issue, Europe’s largest this year, is more than the €7bn to €9bn estimate by analysts [...]
Two cheers for Basel banking rules September 12, 2010 HAD the financial system held more capital two years ago, the world today would look very different. Most big firms would have coped; there may even have been no bailouts. It had become the received wisdom among regulators, firms and academics – all users of fancy models – that banks could operate on razor thin-reserves; [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES RESPITE OVER CITY BONUSES DETAILS Britain’s banks will be spared the embarrassment of giving details of big bonus payments to staff in their annual reports next spring after the Treasury admitted the relevant legislation will not be on the statute book in time. The delay to new disclosure requirements is likely to create [...]
Coal India plans an IPO September 12, 2010 Coal India hopes to raise up to Rs150bn (£2.1bn) from the sale of a 10 per cent stake. That would make its initial public offering bigger than India’s largest completed listing, the $3bn offering of domestic electricity producer Reliance Power in early 2008. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Enam Securities, Deutsche Bank, and Bank [...]