US jobs outlook starts to pick up June 2, 2010 The number of planned layoffs at US firms in May was almost unchanged from April, when they touched a four-year low, suggesting employers have more upbeat outlooks, according to yesterday’s report from recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Employers announced 38,810 job cuts in the month, slightly more than the 38,326 unveiled in April. The [...]
Camelot boosted in lottery sales surge June 2, 2010 CAMELOT yesterday announced its second highest sales since the launch of the national lottery 16 years ago. Sales hit £5.4bn in the year to 31 March – up £302.7m on the previous year. Over the past five years there has been a 14.4 per cent sales rise despite the global downturn which has hit consumers [...]
New Look shelves its plans for a fresh float as gains market share June 2, 2010 BUDGET fashion chain New Look said yesterday it has no immediate plans for a second attempt at a stock-market flotation. The company, which is owned by private-equity firm Permira and Apax, postponed plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in February after market conditions became difficult. The company hoped to raise £650m in the move, [...]
Topps Tiles predicts upturn despite seeing profit dive in tough trading June 2, 2010 TOPPS Tiles yesterday posted a ten per cent fall in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit as consumers curbed spending amid the downturn and said it expected trading in the retail sector to remain tough. The company, which sells wood and tile flooring from 309 stores in Britain, said total revenue for the first seven weeks of [...]
Fitch: Ratings risk posed by Solvency II June 2, 2010 EUROPEAN insurers may struggle to keep their credit ratings under stringent new capital requirements proposed by Brussels, assessment house Fitch warned yesterday. Insurance companies are expected to be ordered to increase the amount of capital they hold against their liabilities under Solvency II, the European Commission’s regulatory regime due to be introduced in 2012. In [...]
UK firms’ foreign takeovers hit record low in first quarter June 2, 2010 THE number of foreign firms bought by British companies and the amount spent on them fell to their lowest level in more than 20 years in the first three months of 2010, official data showed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said spending by UK firms on foreign acquisitions fell to £192m in the [...]
Fans’ bid for United looks doomed to fail June 2, 2010 THE highly anticipated “Red Knights” bid for Manchester United appears to have all but fizzled out after the wealthy group of investors admitted they will not meet the owners’ valuation of the club. The Red Knights have privately said a bid will not be imminent after it became clear they are not willing to match [...]
PwC is appointed as Fabric nightclub’s administrator June 2, 2010 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS was yesterday appointed as administrator for London superclub Fabric. The dance-music venue will remain open while administrators seek a new buyer, but is no longer accepting credit cards. David Chubb and Colin Haig of PricewaterhouseCoopers will handle the account. They worked together on the administration of bridging loan firm Link Lending last month. Chubb [...]
ICG returns to full year profit June 2, 2010 BUYOUT lender Intermediate Capital Group returned to a full-year profit on capital gains and lower provisions at its investment arm and said it expects to make further progress. The mezzanine finance specialist’s new chief executive said it will reach its ambitious target to double assets under management both through acquisitions and organic growth, adding it [...]
BA strike drags on another day June 2, 2010 BRITISH Airways dragged through its fourth day of a five day strike yesterday, with negotiators still failing to find common ground. Arbitration body Acas said: “More talks took place in London yesterday between BA and Unite under the auspices of Acas with the assistance of the TUC. The talks were adjourned late last night and [...]