Correction: Jo Bamford February 25, 2010 We printed a picture of Jo Bamford in yesterday’s edition. We incorrectly said that Bamford donated £400,000 to the Conservative party in the final quarter of 2009. Bamford did not make a donation to the Conservative party. We said he was chief executive of JCB, which he is not. The picture we printed of David [...]
NAPF attacks Darling over pension tax plan February 25, 2010 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling’s plans to reduce tax relief on the pension contributions of high earners will do “enormous harm” to company pension schemes, according to one of the country’s most influential pensions groups. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) yesterday called on the government, which will set out more of their plans in next [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL THE GOVERNMENT’S PLANS TO REDUCE TAX RELIEF ON HIGH EARNERS PENSIONS AFFECT RETIREMENT AGE? February 25, 2010 JASON NASH | BERRYMANS LACE MAWER “It will likely prolong retirement because pensions are currently so badly funded. The pension funds have suffered so much recently that implementing a new tax will now add to the age with which people retire. But maybe less so for the high earners.” AZAM ZAKA | EPROSPECTS “It won’t [...]
Hays profits fall by 97pc as market continues to suffer February 25, 2010 RECRUITMENT giant Hays saw its profits plummet by 97 per cent for the half year after the continued slump in the recruitment market took its toll. Hays saw profits before tax fall to £3.4m for the six-month period ending 31 December 2009, marking a significant drop from the previous year when profits came in at [...]
UK transport companies in profits slide February 25, 2010 TWO of the UK’s leading transport companies have recorded pre-tax profit falls after difficulties with their rail arms. National Express and Go Ahead have blamed the losses on a lack of government subsidies for their rail franchises. National Express returned its East Coast Main Line contract to the government in November but could not prevent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF CENTRICA’S RESULTS? February 25, 2010 JONATHAN JACKSON | KILLIK CAPITAL Centrica was slightly ahead of market expectations. Earnings per share were maintained at 21.7p as a strong performance at British Gas Residential and a lower tax bill helped offset weaker wholesale gas prices and lower production. The outlook for 2010 is positive. LAKIS ATHANASIOU | EVOLUTION SECURITIES Solid set of [...]
CIBC and National Bank of Canada deliver stronger than expected growth February 25, 2010 TWO of Canada’s big banks kicked off earnings season with stronger-than-expected growth in profits yesterday, setting the stage for a rise in bank shares and upping the ante for rivals’ profits next week. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said profit more than quadrupled in the first quarter, helped by volume growth in its retail markets [...]
EADS secures Airbus rescue February 25, 2010 EUROPEAN nations agreed yesterday to pump in €3.5bn (£3.1bn) to save the delayed Airbus A400M airlifter, but left key details unresolved after more last-minute haggling over loans and jobs. Technical problems have pushed the troop plane four years behind schedule and €11.2bn over budget, threatening 10,000 jobs. After savings and writedowns, Airbus parent EADS still [...]
Iberia bets on BA merger as it reveals record losses February 25, 2010 SPANISH airline Iberia posted a record operating loss yesterday, hit by declining air travel and underscoring challenges facing the industry as the airline seeks shelter in a merger with British Airways. “This market has changed for good. Traditional airlines as we know them will disappear, but we’re not crying here,” Iberia chairman Antonio Vazquez said. [...]
Centrica is confident on the future February 25, 2010 CENTRICA, the UK’s largest energy supplier, recorded a seven per cent drop in profit for 2009 due to lower wholesale gas and power prices. However, sales were up five per cent to £21.96bn and the supplier expects wholesale gas prices to rise again in 2010, although this is expected to be below levels seen in [...]