ECONOMIST VIEWS: HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT CURRENT INFLATION LEVELS? May 18, 2010 HETAL MEHTA | SENIOR ECONOMIC ADVISOR, ERNST & YOUNG ITEM CLUB “The Bank has factored in these short term upside risks, and believes the high margin of spare capacity will bear down on inflation in the second half of the year. In light of this, we do not expect the Bank to raise interest rates [...]
CITY VIEWS: IS IT RIGHT GREECE SHOULD BE BAILED OUT BY THE TAXPAYER? May 18, 2010 BILLY PRICE | CHARLES STANLEY “I don’t think the foreign taxpayer should have had to sort out Greece’s economic problems. The International Monetary Fund should have stepped in. The recession has shown what bad news the euro is for the world economy.” NICK TISI | SCOTIABANK “Europe had no choice but to bail out Greece, [...]
Britvic pays £200m for its French rival May 18, 2010 BRITIVIC is taking over French rival Fruité in a €237m (£203m) deal. Fruité makes popular French brands such as Teisseire, which sponsors the Tour de France. The deal will be funded from existing debt facilities and a £100m share placing. Fruité has four factories, all in France, which Britvic says offer a platform to expand [...]
Wal-Mart price cuts pay off May 18, 2010 WAL-MART’S quarterly results yesterday beat Wall Street expectations as a curb on costs helped the world’s largest retailer overcome weaker US same-store sales. The costs cuts on everything from labour to transportation helped the company fund “rollbacks” on prices for thousands of items in recent weeks, as it tries to hold onto customers pressured by [...]
Paddy Power is racing ahead with strong 2010 May 18, 2010 PADDY Power – Ireland’s largest bookmaker – said that online revenue so far this year was very strong and profit modestly ahead of expectations, as sports results went its way and punters spent more. The company said the amount staked by online customers, excluding those in its recently acquired Australian business, grew by 19 per [...]
Dairy Crest Group sees profit rise but warns milk costs could drive up prices May 18, 2010 DAIRY Crest warned that prices will jump yesterday as it posted a five per cent rise in annual profits. The group, which makes Cathedral City cheese, Clover spread and Country Life butter, said higher costs and a poor spring for UK milk production will put pressure on prices. Dairy Crest reported profits of £83.5m for [...]
SSL sees strong earnings despite poor UK market May 18, 2010 DUREX condom maker SSL International yesterday reported a 51 per cent jump in profits despite difficult trading in the UK. The firm, which also makes Scholl footwear, said profits for the year rose from £76.5m to £115.3m. Sales in the 12 months to the end of March increased by 25 per cent to £802.5m. Business [...]
AstraZeneca settles patent dispute over Crohn’s drug May 18, 2010 ASTRAZENECA has settled a US patent dispute with Teva Pharmaceuticals by allowing the company to sell a generic version of Astra’s Entocort EC drug for Crohn’s disease from 2012. Teva has received a licence to enter the US market with its generic version of the capsules, which contain the active ingredient budesonide, from 15 February [...]
Market abuse trader turns up at XCAP May 18, 2010 A CITY trader who was fined for market abuse by the regulator six years ago has returned with the launch of a new investment bank. Chris Potts was head of market making at Evolution Securities when he was slapped with a £75,000 penalty by the Financial Services Authority in 2004. The charge, meted out for [...]
Fewer CEOs getting the sack May 18, 2010 TURNOVER rates for executives moving out of senior positions remained high last year despite a drop in the number of chief executive officers (CEO) forced from their posts, according to new research. Data from management consultancy group Booz & Company, showed that CEO succession rates at roughly 2,500 large companies continued at 14.3 per cent. [...]