Spain’s BBVA confident bad loans are out April 28, 2010 Spain’s second-largest bank BBVA stabilised bad debts in the first quarter and yesterday said it was confident these have peaked ahead of its rivals, adding weight to the recovery for Spain’s property-hit lenders. BBVA also reassured investors it had little exposure to Greece and Portugal, following credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Greek [...]
Deka seeks Drapers Gardens April 28, 2010 DEKA, the German fund manager, is the frontrunner to buy the iconic Drapers Gardens office building in the City of London, according to advisers working on the deal. Drapers Gardens, which is owned by Canary Wharf and Exemplar Properties, was put on the market in March this year. The other bidders include European fund managers [...]
Stagecoach is boosted by bus and train ticket sales April 28, 2010 STAGECOACH posted a positive trading update after the transport group saw improved revenue and strong profitability during the first quarter. The Perth-based firm, which also has operations in the US and Canada, said higher revenue boiled down to economic recovery in all of the regions where it operated. Bus and rail revenue in the UK [...]
HYDRODEC: STEADY PROGRESS April 28, 2010 CHEMICALS group Hydrodec, led by chief executive Mark McNamara, saw its shares rise around 28 per cent to 8.25p on news that trading conditions and cash generation were improving. The group – which recycles used transformer oil – saw annual sales rise by 49 per cent to $10.4m (£6.8m) while pre-tax losses narrowed to $13.6m [...]
888 to cut costs after poor trading April 28, 2010 ONLINE gaming group 888 said it will have to take cost-cutting measures after disappointing second quarter trading in its casino, poker and bingo operations. The internet group said yesterday that second quarter daily average revenue was down by 13 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which was partly due to historical seasonal trading patterns. [...]
Forth Ports knocks back £640m offer April 28, 2010 A CONSORTIUM of shareholders bidding for Forth Ports could walk away from a takeover after the Edinburgh-based docks operator shunned a sweetened bid worth £640m. Shares in Forth Ports surged eight per cent to £13.42 after the board unanimously said the £14 per share offer from Northstream fell “far short” of the company’s value. It [...]
Boots tops reputation poll as banks languish April 28, 2010 Alliance Boots knocked Marks & Spencer off the top spot, in a survey of company reputation. The Reputation Institute’s UK Pulse Report 2010 ranked retail brands highly but the list of 140 firms made torrid reading for the finance industry. Royal Bank of Scotland languished at 138, with Lloyds at 136 and Barclays at 129. [...]
Two banks face fines over poor complaint lines April 28, 2010 TWO British banks could be fined by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for mishandling customer complaints after the regulator published a damning verdict of lenders’ processes. The FSA would not confirm whether one of the institutions being “referred for enforcement” was 83 per cent state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, which said in February it was [...]
Osborne plans shake-up of bank sector April 28, 2010 THE TORIES will begin the “most radical overhaul” of the banking system in a generation if they are elected next week, George Osborne said yesterday. Speaking to an audience at the Institute of Directors yesterday, the shadow chancellor said he would start dismantling the Financial Services Authority (FSA) “within months” of taking office, replacing it [...]
Five reasons the Tories will win a majority April 28, 2010 FOR almost a fortnight, the polls have been stubbornly pointing at a hung parliament after 6 May. But the most likely result is a small, workable Tory majority. Here are five reasons why: 1) Gillian Duffy. Bigot-gate will come to define this election campaign, which has been pretty safe and dull so far. Not necessarily [...]