Early Easter boosts retail sales April 12, 2010 The early Easter helped boost retail sales figures for March. Sales were up by 4.4 per cent year-on-year, with food sales leading the march with a 6.6 per cent jump. But a direct comparison with last year is skewed because of earlier Easter egg sales. Retail administrations for the first quarter were also down by [...]
Geely: Volvo to break even soon April 12, 2010 Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings said Volvo, which it is in the process of buying, could break even as early as the fourth quarter, after posting a surprise drop in its own second-half earnings. Hong Kong-listed Geely shares fell six per cent in their biggest drop in more than two months, hitting a five-week low, [...]
Aristocrat of Arsenal plays hard to get April 12, 2010 LADY Nina Bracewell-Smith will resist selling her stake in Arsenal despite growing pressure from the club’s two biggest shareholders. Speculation reached fever pitch yesterday after it emerged Bracewell-Smith has hired US buyout group Blackstone to advise her over her 15.9 per cent holding in the Gunners. The news coincided with the deadline for Arsenal’s leading [...]
Asda chief to step down as takeover rumours sweep City April 12, 2010 ANDY Bond is stepping down as chief executive of Asda in a shock move ahead of his unveiling of the company’s five-year strategy plan. Bond is stepping into a new role of chairman on the board of Asda – a subsidiary of US retail giant Walmart – the firm said yesterday. The role will start [...]
WaMu chased risky clients April 12, 2010 Despite fraud rates of over 58 per cent and 83 per cent at two of Washington Mutual Bank’s biggest loan generating offices in 2005, the bank did nothing to address the problem, according to findings released yesterday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The loans were made after the bank decided in 2003 to [...]
China pays $5bn in oil sands deal April 12, 2010 China’s Sinopec plans to buy ConocoPhillips’ stake in the huge Syncrude project in Canada’s oil sands for $4.65bn (£3.03bn), one of the Asian country’s largest investments ever in North America. ConocoPhillips said it will sell its 9.03 per cent interest in the Syncrude Canada project to the refiner in a deal set to close in [...]
Microsoft launches Kin phone April 12, 2010 Microsoft, the US computer giant, launched two new phones, Kin One and Kin Two, aimed at young people yesterday, marking a fresh assault on the fast growing smartphone market, where BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and Apple’s iPhone now dominate. The phones will be made by Japan’s Sharp and will be sold by Verizon Wireless, [...]
Iceland probe finds negligence April 12, 2010 The former Icelandic government, its central bank head and five former officials acted with “gross negligence” in failing to prevent Iceland’s banking collapse in 2008, an official investigation found yesterday. The Special Investigation Commission report also criticised the running of the former top three banks – Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing.
UBS outflows slow ahead of investor clash April 12, 2010 UBS surprised analysts yesterday by revealing its haemorrhaging of private client funds slowed to SwFr8bn (£4.9bn) in the first quarter. The outflows were stemmed as fewer rich clients took money out in protest at the bank’s recent losses, UBS said. Other institutions in the region will take heart from the trend, which comes amid an [...]
Grübel isn’t out of the woods just yet April 12, 2010 THE three keys that make up the UBS logo symbolise confidence, security and discretion. Investors and clients could be forgiven for thinking it needs to be redesigned. Battered by huge writedowns in the financial crisis and a flight of wealth management clients in the wake of a massive American tax evasion probe, the Swiss bank [...]