BEST OF THE BROKERS January 26, 2010 MARSTON’S Numis predicts the brewing giant will report a year-on-year one per cent increase in like-for-like sales at its annual meeting on Friday and gives the shares a “buy” rating. It forecasts pub margins to be flat with falling utility and food costs and labour cost inflation offset by efficiency gains. PHILIPS S&P Equity has [...]
Siemens profits up despite sales drop January 26, 2010 GERMAN engineering group Siemens yesterday reported a big jump in pre-tax profits despite a sales slump. Siemens has cut its workforce by 22,000 in the past year as well as slashing its administration costs by €2bn (£1.7bn). Its profit rose 23 per cent in the first quarter to €1.48bn from €1.2bn in the same period [...]
Retail banks the worst hit by Obama’s plans January 26, 2010 YOUGOV’S BrandIndex operates in the United States, as well as the UK and continental Europe. We have looked at the impact that President Obama’s announcement on 21 January may have had on the American public’s perception of US consumer and investment banking brands. Obama’s proposals include strict regulations on consumer banks, restricting their ability to [...]
UBS tax deal with Swiss in doubt January 26, 2010 Switzerland’s cabinet will meet today to discuss a court decision which may undermine a key tax deal involving leading bank UBS and US authorities. A UBS client earlier this week won an appeal to prevent her account data from being given to US tax collectors as part of a US probe into possible tax evasion. [...]
A LESSON IN THE PERILS OF PAYING BY PLASTIC January 26, 2010 LET this be a lesson to all those out there who imagine that the good old days of decadence are gone for good. I hear a bit of a surprise was in store on a recent holiday to Miami for Michael Parnes – the founder of Old Park Lane Capital, the Mayfair-based ultra high net [...]
SIGNS OF LIFE January 26, 2010 BRITAIN has emerged blinking from its deepest post-War recession but there seemed little reason to be cheerful yesterday as paltry growth of just 0.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2009 hammered home the fragility of the recovery and the very real risk of a relapse in 2010. Policymakers had optimistically forecast a V-shaped [...]
UK economy limps out of recession January 26, 2010 THE UK has officially come out of recession – but only just. Data released by the Official of National Statistics showed the economy grew just 0.1 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2009. Although the figure compares with a decrease of 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2009 it still comes way [...]
Consumer confidence up in US but housing market shaky January 25, 2010 CONSUMER confidence in January hit its highest level since September 2008 in the US, according to new data. A decline in job losses in recent months and a resurgent stock market have helped improve consumers’ mood after the US recession that ended last year. Yet concerns remain about the sustainability of the recovery after the [...]
HSBC chief attacks bankers’ bonuses January 25, 2010 HSBC chairman Stephen Green has launched an attack on bankers’ bonuses branding the sums they have been receiving “inflated”. He said bankers would have to accept lower payouts in the future following the furore surrounding their remuneration packages. Green, who is also chairman of the British Bankers’ Association, said: “You’ve had bonuses paid off gross [...]
Siemens sees profits leap after cost cutting January 25, 2010 GERMAN engineering group Siemens has reported a big jump in pre-tax profit despite a sales slump. Siemens has cut its workforce by 22,000 in the past year as well as slashing its administration costs by €2bn (£1.7bn). Its profit rose 23 per cent in the first quarter to €1.48bn from €1.2bn in the same period [...]