Q&A: BANK LEVY KEY POINTS July 13, 2010 Q.WHY IS THE NEW BANK LEVY DEEMED NECESSARY? A.After the government was forced to use taxpayers’ money to bail out institutions that were crippled during the financial crisis, policymakers insisted a levy on banks’ balance sheets should be introduced as a safeguard against future problems in the industry. The government wants to raise £2.5bn a [...]
DTZ cautious despite profit July 13, 2010 STAFF pay cuts and a strong performance in its Asian business helped property consultancy DTZ return to the black only a year after posting losses of £35.1m. But despite the impressive turnaround to report pre-exceptional profits of £3.6m for the year to the end of April, the London-based company extended its dividend freeze to two [...]
AIG bosses set to consider potential AIA flotation today July 13, 2010 THE board of American International Group is set to meet today to consider the future of its AIA unit, with a public float seen as the most likely outcome, it emerged yesterday. Banking insiders said an initial public offering for the Asian life insurance branch of AIG was more likely following the fruitless $35.5bn (£25bn) [...]
DTZ July 13, 2010 THERE’S caution and there’s fear. DTZ’s decision to withhold its final dividend despite booking a 110 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £3.6m for the year, a dramatic turnaround from last year’s £35.1m loss, looks like the latter. Chief executive Paul Idzik cited “economic uncertainty and geopolitical risk” for his caution. “You have to [...]
BORDERS TO SELL PAPERCHASE July 13, 2010 US BOOK retailer Borders yesterday agreed a deal to sell UK-based stationery group Paperchase to private equity group Primary Capital for $31m (£20m). Borders plans to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt levels. Borders acquired a majority interest in Paperchase in 2004. It said the deal to sell the business should be [...]
UK aerospace sector buoyed by export jobs July 13, 2010 BUOYED by robust exports the UK’s aerospace sector saw annual revenue increase 5.4 per cent to £22.2bn last year leaving it competitive, despite orders falling by more than a tenth. With the first Strategic Defence Review (SDR) in 12 years underway the industry can expect to continue to feel the pinch. Alex Dorrian, president of [...]
Yum fails to satisfy investors as quarterly profit drops 6pc July 13, 2010 YUM BRANDS, parent of the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut chains, issued a disappointing full-year earnings outlook yesterday and said it expects labour costs to rise in its key China market, sending shares down 3.1 per cent. Yum raised its full-year earnings per share forecast to $2.43 from $2.39, based on results from the [...]
Fuel price dip cuts inflation rate for June July 13, 2010 FALLING fuel prices helped annual inflation to ease in June for the second month in a row but core inflation, which excludes energy and food costs, worrying rose last month, official data showed yesterday. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the consumer prices index (CPI) eased to 3.2 per cent last month from 3.4 [...]
London hit by house price drop July 13, 2010 HOUSE prices in Britain rose by 0.7 per cent in May on the previous month, pushing the annual increase up to 11 per cent, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said yesterday. Consequently, the mix-adjusted average house price in the UK stood at £209,505 in May 2010. Annual average house prices paid by [...]
Sentance: Take monetary stimulus away gradually July 13, 2010 MONETARY stimulus needs to be withdrawn gradually to avoid destabilising confidence through a sudden lurch in policy, Bank of England policymaker Andrew Sentance said yesterday in a speech setting out why he voted for a rate rise in June. Sentance, who was speaking yesterday in Reading, was the only member of the MPC to vote [...]