INM benefits from Indie sale April 13, 2010 Independent News & Media, the Irish based company which sold its flagship Independent newspaper to Russian ex-KGB man Alexander Lebedev earlier this month, has seen a renewed interest in its shares since it parted with the loss making paper. Based on a positive report by Deutsche Bank its share price has risen from its historic [...]
Beatty wins £95m BSF contract April 13, 2010 Balfour Beatty has beaten rival Kier Group to the £95m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) contract in Hartlepool. The infrastructure group said it had been awarded the contract by Hartlepool borough council to rebuild and replace six schools over the next five years. The first school construction project begins this summer and finishes in [...]
PROPERTY BARONS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR SAGE April 13, 2010 IT WAS a hop, a skip and a jump over to the Dorchester yesterday lunchtime for the slap-up annual lunch hosted by Gerald Ronson, the seasoned chief of property group Heron International. Ronson’s list of invitees reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of property and high finance, including ex-Lloyds chair Sir Victor [...]
Debenhams profits up but refit hits sales April 13, 2010 DEBENHAMS posted a profits rise yesterday but sales only rose slightly – as a massive store revamp scheme took its toll.? The store posted half-year profits before tax and exceptional items of £123.6m – a rise of 18.6 per cent. The chain is refurbishing stores as part of its move away from concessions towards more [...]
LVMH says luxury back in fashion April 13, 2010 LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury goods firm, has said consumers are starting to splash out on luxury goods again. The group reported a 13 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the three months to 31 March fuelled by strong figures in the US and Europe. The Paris-based maker of Louis Vuitton handbags, Hennessy cognac, [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF DEBENHAMS’ RESULTS? April 13, 2010 CAROLINE GULLIVER | EXECUTION NOBLE “Debenhams has reported strong preliminary results: underlying profit-before-tax of £120.5m is ahead of consensus expectations of £115m, but more in-line with our estimate of £119m.” TONY SHIRET | CREDIT SUISSE “These figures are just the same old, same old. We would like to have seen more evidence of like-for-like growth. [...]
Lib Dems: we will ban bank board bonuses April 13, 2010 NICK Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, yesterday said his party would ban all bank bonuses at board level. Speaking alongside his Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, Clegg said the Lib Dems would “ensure the bonus system can never again encourage banks to behave recklessly”. Clegg, who could play kingmaker after the election if polls [...]
ELECTION2010 April 13, 2010 Poll shows eight point Tory lead Today’s YouGov poll for the Sun shows Labour losing further ground as it drops two points to 31 per cent, showing no obvious boost after its manifesto launch. The Tories are unchanged at 39 per cent, and the Liberal Democrats also unchanged at 20 per cent. Sugar makes Labour [...]
Should there be a cap on immigration? April 13, 2010 THE TORIES unveiled their election manifesto yesterday, but we want to know what you think of two policies that could affect the City – a cap on some immigration and the scrapping of the retirement age. The Tories are planning to set an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted in the [...]
CONSERVATIVE MANIFESTO | AT A GLANCE April 13, 2010 Economy • Safeguard Britain’s credit rating with a credible plan to eliminate the bulk of the structural deficit over a Parliament. • Cut wasteful government spending to bring the deficit down and restore stability. • Increase spending on health in real terms every year and honour our commitments on international aid. Financial regulation • Enable [...]