ANALYST VIEWS: CAN HALFORDS BOUNCE BACK FROM THESE POOR RESULTS? July 27, 2010 NICK BUBB | ARDEN The key thing is that Halfords has re-iterated its full-year view of good, mid-teens earnings growth, given good cost control and the benefit of the recent Nationwide Autocentre acquisition, which continues to integrate well. We therefore hold our full-year profit forecast of £136m, a tad ahead of consensus. MARK PHOTIADES | [...]
Ofcom slams broadband speed claims July 27, 2010 OFCOM yesterday confirmed what most people with a broadband connection already know – that you don’t always get the connection speed you pay for. Extensive research by the communications watchdog revealed that customers are often receiving broadband speeds less than half those being advertised. Ofcom yesterday unveiled a new code of practice aimed at empowering [...]
ARM sees 167pc profit spike after surge in demand for smartphones July 27, 2010 Rising demand for smartphones, netbooks and tablet computers saw chip designer ARM Holdings deliver a remarkable 167 per cent year-on-year spike in profit. The British company, whose designs are in more than 95 per cent of the world’s mobile phones, posted record pre-tax profit of £43.5m on revenue of £100m, both ahead of expectations. The [...]
Ad sales buoy Daily Mail firm July 27, 2010 Publisher Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) said yesterday its flagship newspaper business rebounded strongly after the advertising crisis. Underlying advertising revenues rebounded 13 per cent at its national newspaper division, led by the Daily Mail. Sales for the third quarter rose six per cent, also helped by subscriptions to its publications maintaining pace. Advertising [...]
iPhone users can alter software July 27, 2010 The US copyright office has given legal protection for people who unlock smartphones like Apple’s iPhone. Changing operators’ fixed phone settings – known as “jailbreaking” – has become widely popular around the world since the 2007 introduction of the iPhone. The move by the copyright office to give exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [...]
Foxconn workers taken sick July 27, 2010 Foxconn International suspended operations at a mobile phone parts manufacturing facility in India after workers became sick, but it said the incident would not affect its business. The company said about 250 workers at its facility in Tamil Nadu near Chennai “experienced sensations of giddiness and nausea” while working in the facility and were treated [...]
Informa beats forecasts July 27, 2010 Business media group Informa said rebookings for 2011 events were up nine per cent after a 1.5 per cent fall in the first half of 2010. Informa’s total revenues were down 0.5 per cent organically to £624m in the first half of the year, after it culled about 500 marginal and less profitable products and [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO OFCOM’S FINDINGS MEAN FOR CONSUMERS? July 27, 2010 ED RICHARDS | OFCOM Ofcom’s research shows that average speeds have increased, which is good news. But actual speeds are often much lower than many of the advertised speeds which makes it essential that consumers are given information which is as accurate as possible at the point of sale. RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The [...]
Luxury auto firms enjoy jump in sales July 27, 2010 LUXURY car-makers Daimler and Audi said a surprise jump in demand will drive profits for the rest of the year, in separate updates yesterday. Daimler expects rising sales of its most expensive Mercedes-Benz models to push operating profit to €6bn (£5bn), its best result since the auto industry boom peaked three years ago. The German [...]
Offshore drilling bill diluted July 27, 2010 US Senate Democrats unveiled a slimmed down bill yesterday aimed at reforming offshore drilling, as doubts grew that Congress would be able to pass any substantial energy legislation this year. The Senate bill, which Democrats were still refining, would require oil companies to cover all oil spill costs by removing the $75m (£48m) cap on [...]