Matalan profit up June 25, 2010 Budget fashion retailer Matalan has seen a profit rise. The retailer made profits of £186m in the year to February – £41m up on the previous 12 months. Founder John Hargreaves shelved a plan to float the company earlier this year. Matalan trades from 205 UK stores with three more overseas.
Avis plans £151m rights issue June 25, 2010 CAR rental group Avis Europe has announced plans to raise £151m from shareholders with a rights issue. The issue has already won the the backing of Brussels motoring services firm D’Ieteren, which owns 60 per cent of the company. The firm has seven million customers a year through the Avis and Budget brands. It has [...]
Cameron to defend UK fiscal squeeze at summit June 25, 2010 David Cameron has defended Britain’s decision to implement the biggest fiscal squeeze in a generation as G20 leaders prepared to meet in Canada to discuss the global economy. Last year’s G20 unity on the need for coordinated action to support the world economy has started to falter as the recovery has got under way. Ahead [...]
BP shares tumble again as Gulf crisis bill soars June 25, 2010 BP has admitted that the bill for the Gulf of Mexico spill has soared to £1.57bn. The company said the sum included £84m paid out in claims to those affected by the disaster. Progress on the relief well, intended to kill the leaking well, and measures to improve the capture of oil from the leaking [...]
Ocado to float June 24, 2010 ECHOES of the dotcom bubble returned to the City yesterday, as an online grocery delivery firm that has not turned a profit in 10 years confirmed it will float with an estimated value of £1bn. Ocado said it will seek to raise £200m when it floats this year and expects existing shareholders to cash in [...]
Lib Dem splits appear over budget June 24, 2010 THE first cracks in the coalition started to appear yesterday, after a leading Liberal Democrat said he and colleagues would try to “improve the fairness” of George Osborne’s Budget. Deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes, who is on the left-wing of the party, told MPs in the commons he would consider tabling amendments to the [...]
Gillard calls for tax truce June 24, 2010 THE Australian government signalled last night that it was now open to renegotiating the 40 per cent headline rate of its proposed mining tax, which has angered resource companies. New Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made no promises about changes to the tax but her pledge to open negotiations prompted positive statements from the two [...]
We will all have to work much longer June 24, 2010 WHY is anybody upset at being told that we are all going to have to work until we are 66 or even older before the state pension kicks in? I would have thought this was obvious – and in fact it has long been the plan to make everybody work a year longer. The coalition [...]
RIM sees profits up 20pc June 24, 2010 BLACKBERRY maker, Research in Motion (RIM) saw quarterly profits rise almost 20 per cent yesterday. RIM shares fell 3.7 per cent as shipments and subscriber growth fell short of expectations. The group posted first-quarter earnings of $769m (£515m) in the three months to 29 May, up from $643m in the same period last year. Quarterly [...]
DIC remains committed to EU June 24, 2010 Dubai International Capital (DIC) yesterday rejected claims it could attempt to sell off its European assets, after the sovereign wealth fund promised to retain its five majority-owned companies in the region for at least another two years. DIC, which is heavily indebted, told senior managers of its portfolio companies that it had already spent $300m [...]