BLOOMSBURY MISSING POTTER MAGIC March 30, 2010 BRITISH publisher Bloomsbury Publishing posted a fall in full-year profit, but raised its dividend after a strong start to 2010. For the year ended 31 December, adjusted pre-tax profit was £7.71m, compared with £11.85m. Revenue fell 13 per cent to £87.22m, reflecting difficult trading conditions and tough comparison from last year when the paperback release [...]
Rio Tinto trial ignites China trade tension March 30, 2010 CHINA warned Australia not to make “irresponsible” comments about the trial of four employees of mining firm Rio Tinto yesterday after Canberra said the trial had left questions about China’s legal system. Verbal sparring over the conviction of Australian citizen Stern Hu and three colleagues underlined foreign investors’ concers about legal transparency in China and [...]
Cable charms voters in the chancellor debate March 30, 2010 YOUGOV has a new addition to its BrandIndex offering: TellYouGov. The usual way to do research is to ask people to fill out surveys: the researcher decides what topic should be explored and the formats in which people are allowed to respond. But TellYouGov allows people to give their views on any topic at any [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 30, 2010 Clifford Chance The law firm has elected Michael Bates and Robert Lee as the new joint practice area leaders for its London finance practice, effective for a four-year period starting tomorrow. Bates, pictured, has been a partner since 2001 and specialises in acquisition and leveraged financings in the infrastructure sector. Lee, a partner since 1997, [...]
Future hopes the worst is behind it March 30, 2010 Future, the international special interest media group, said its upcoming results are likely to be in line with expectations. The firm said trading remains “challenging” but is heading in the right direction. First half Ebitda is expected to be lower than the first half of 2009, primarily as a result of unfavourable currency impacts. Future [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 30, 2010 CARLUCCIO’S Altium Securities downgrades its recommendation on restaurant group Carluccio’s from a “buy” to a “hold” ahead of today’s trading update. Blames valuation for the decision. Calculates the shares trade on a multiple of 16.2 times earnings, and says currently its rival the Restaurant Group offers better value. CONNAUGHT Charles Stanley has downgraded its stance [...]
BUSINESS SUPPORTS TORY TAX CUT PLANS March 29, 2010 GEORGE Osborne’s plans to cut National Insurance yesterday met with a flurry of support from the business world, as the shadow chancellor clashed with his 11 Downing Street rivals in a live televised debate. Osborne used the morning of the Channel 4 debate against chancellor Alistair Darling and Liberal Democrat Vince Cable to launch his [...]
CITI SELL-OFF REAPS $9BN PROFIT March 29, 2010 AMERICAN taxpayers stand to nearly double their profit from the bailed-out Wall Street banks after the US Treasury said it would sell its entire stake in Citigroup yesterday. The US government will reap up to $8.8bn (£5.9bn) if it manages to offload the shares at yesterday’s opening price of $4.39, a four-month high. The profit [...]
CHANCELLOR CHALLENGE: WE RATE LAST NIGHT’S TV DEBATE March 29, 2010 ALISTAIR DARLING LABOUR Performance Darling gave a solid if uninspiring performance, adopting a reassuring tone that supported Labour’s “don’t wreck the recovery” theme. But he stuttered when pressed by his rivals, and adopted arguments and language that was probably too complex for the average viewer. 6/10 Content Having delivered his Budget last week, Alistair Darling [...]
George Osborne begins his fightback March 29, 2010 AT long last some red meat from the Tories. Their proposal for a partial cancellation of Labour’s national insurance tax hike is a small but important step in the right direction; it is good to see that they now want to pursue a dual strategy of deficit reduction combined with selected supply-side tax cuts. The [...]