Allied Irish to launch rights issue in 2010 April 28, 2010 Allied Irish Banks yesterday confirmed plans to launch a rights issue in the second half of 2010 as it seeks to catch up with Bank of Ireland in the race for fresh capital and minimise state ownership. Bank of Ireland this week became the first of five Irish lenders to tap markets looking to plug [...]
Deutsche bond trader in court April 28, 2010 A DEUTSCHE Bank bond salesman accused of illegal insider trading in the US market regulator’s first credit default swaps case neither broke securities law nor bank policy, his lawyer said in a closing statement at trial yesterday. The SEC’s summation focused on trial evidence of phone calls between the defendants, who switched from recorded landlines [...]
Galleon probe continues in US April 28, 2010 FEDERAL prosecutors are continuing “covert investigations” of two people in the Galleon hedge fund insider trade case, according to a court document made public yesterday. The disclosure raises the prospect of additional arrests in a case described by prosecutors as the biggest probe of illegal insider trading involving hedge funds in the United States. Twenty-one [...]
Swine flu vaccine drives up GlaxoSmithKline’s earnings April 28, 2010 BUMPER sales of swine flu vaccine boosted GlaxoSmithKline’s first-quarter earnings by 17 per cent, more than expected, and the drugmaker reassured investors it could absorb the cost of US healthcare reform. Pre-tax profit was £2.23bn, earnings before major restructuring rose 17 per cent to 30.7p per share, while sales rose nine per cent to £7.36bn, [...]
Home Retail plans £150m share refund April 28, 2010 ARGOS and Homebase owner Home Retail Group yesterday announced plans for a share buyback of up to £150m as new figures showed its annual profit had dropped by 11 per cent. Underlying profits fell to £292.9m for the year to 27 February – down from £327.7m for the year before – the company said. Earnings [...]
Carpetright chief warns over double-dip recession April 28, 2010 THE head of Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, Carpetright, warned a “double dip” in the UK economy was likely yesterday as his firm reported its second downbeat trading update in five weeks. Chairman and chief executive Lord Harris, said there was “no question” Carpetright’s own sales had “double dipped”. The firm, which trades from 586 [...]
Asda fights poor sales with best price guarantee April 28, 2010 ASDA yesterday unveiled a money-back price guarantee after poor sales growth. The chain is offering to refund shoppers who find that a basket of comparable goods would have been cheaper at Tesco, Morrisons or Sainsbury’s. Asda increased its sales by only 2.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 28 April, compared with rises of [...]
BAT struggles as cigarette demand falls April 28, 2010 BRITISH American Tobacco reported a four per cent fall in underlying first quarter volumes yesterday as fewer customers bought cigarettes. The London-based group, which makes Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, said its consumers were finding economic conditions difficult and volumes suffered as a result of the decline in some markets. Overall volumes [...]
Greene King bullish for 2010 as food sales give it a boost April 28, 2010 PUB group Greene King said yesterday it was confident of meeting its full-year profit forecasts, boosted by strong sales of food, although it remains cautious on the outlook for consumer spending. The company, which has around 2,500 pubs in England and Scotland, said in a trading update that retail like-for-like sales were up 3.6 per [...]
Admiral on track to hit its targets as turnover rises April 28, 2010 MOTOR insurer Admiral said its performance in the first quarter put it on track to meet analyst expectations for 2010 as turnover was boosted by the firm insuring more cars. Admiral said yesterday that sales for the first three months of the year increased to £345m – 28 per cent higher than the same period in [...]