Breathing space for Connaught after it secures £15m overdraft July 29, 2010 SOCIAL HOUSING maintenance firm Connaught soothed investors yesterday with the news it has secured an additional £15m overdraft facility and delayed repayments on other loans. The company said earlier this week it was in urgent need of funds to avoid breaching banking covenants. Connaught said it will continue negotiations with banks to secure long-term financing. [...]
NEW METRO BANK LURES IN CANDY BROTHERS July 29, 2010 OFF to the preview party for Metro Bank’s new Holborn store on Wednesday evening, where anyone who was anyone gathered to drink champagne under the gaudy red-and-blue rafters and gush about the wonders of sugar-coated customer service. Attendees included Meredith Whitney, the glamorous US banking analyst; Jamie Reuben, son of property magnate David; US investor [...]
AstraZeneca profits rise July 29, 2010 ASTRAZENECA, the UK’s second-largest drugs company, doubled its 2010 share buyback plan to $2bn (£1.3bn) yesterday after posting strong results and clearing several regulatory hurdles in the US. Pre-tax profit in the second quarter rose to $6.4bn (£4.1bn) from $5.6bn in the same period a year ago, on sales up three per cent at $8.18bn, [...]
Sanofi-Aventis promises more takeovers after upbeat results July 29, 2010 FRENCH pharmaceutical firm Sanofi -Aventis pledged discipline in pursuing growth through acquisitions yesterday, as the drugmaker posted better-than-expected results and remained tight-lipped on its expected bid for US biotech company Genzyme. Sanofi’s second-quarter earnings exceeded forecasts, thanks to tightened spending and demand for its diabetes drugs, growth in emerging markets and a weaker euro. Business [...]
House price fall fuels fear of double-dip July 29, 2010 FEARS of a sustained double-dip in Britain’s property market intensified yesterday after mortgage lender Nationwide reported that house prices fell this month for the first time since February and the Bank of England revealed that mortgage approvals dropped to a four-month low in June. The latest figures from Nationwide showed that house prices fell by [...]
US jobless claims in a surprise tumble July 29, 2010 NEW claims for US unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly last week to 457,000, down 2.4 per cent from the previous week, the Labor Department said. Jobless claims fell by 11,000 in the week ending 24 July, down substantially from the 464,000 level expected by analysts. The jobless figures were lower, in part, thanks to fewer layoffs [...]
Retailers recruit more staff July 29, 2010 High street retailers employed 22,000 more staff between April and June compared to the same period a year earlier, a new employment monitor from the British Retail Consortium will show today. The increase in employment was driven by a three per cent net annual increase in the number of stores in the second quarter. Retailers’ [...]
M4 lending slows in June July 29, 2010 THE flow of money to non-financial companies – a gauge of the effectiveness of the Bank of England’s £200bn asset purchase programme – slowed markedly in June. M4, excluding intermediate other financial corporations, rose by just 0.2 per cent on the month, the lowest since January, taking the three-month annualised rate down to six per [...]
Consumer confidence falls again July 29, 2010 Consumer confidence fell for the fifth successive month in July, according to the latest barometer from GfK NOP published today. The overall consumer confidence index dropped three points to -22 with falls in consumers’ expectations for their personal finances over the next year, the current general economic situation and the economy over the next 12 [...]
BAE Systems stays bullish despite cuts July 29, 2010 BAE SYSTEMS remains bullish in the face of looming government spending cuts, after posting a 14 per cent rise in first-half earnings yesterday to swing back into profit. The firm’s chief executive Ian King said: “The group anticipates a challenging trading environment as governments look for cost savings to address budgetary pressures and enhance value [...]