After the Nvidelity comes the Huangover. Jensen Huang joins long list who confused boardroom and bedroom
Sands does it again despite hard times March 3, 2010 IT’S almost impossible to believe. Despite the worst recession in a generation and the near-implosion of the global banking sector, Standard Chartered yesterday celebrated a seventh consecutive year of growth. Shrugging off the contraction in worldwide GDP, the Asia-focused bank booked record profits of $5.1bn (£3.4bn) thanks to strong performances from Hong Kong and India. [...]
Employees reap a $4.9bn pay day March 3, 2010 STANDARD Chartered dished out a $4.9bn compensation package for its employees as it announced record profits. Its remuneration ratio is 32 per cent of its $15.2bn revenue – slightly down from the 34 per cent handed out the year before. It works out at $64,000 for each of its 77,000 staff. The amount given in [...]
EasyJet boss is a good fit for Whitbread March 3, 2010 WHITBREAD has appointed Andy Harrison, the former easyJet boss, as its new chief executive. He will replace Alan Parker who spent six years at the head of the group, which counts Premier Inn, Beefeater and Costa Coffee among its businesses, and 18 years at the firm in total. Harrison beat other potential candidates including Carl [...]
Virgin bags a 75pc stake of Assura Medical March 3, 2010 VIRGIN has fulfilled its long-term ambition of entering into the medical and healthcare sectors after acquiring a 75 per cent stake of Assura Medical. Under the deal, the new healthcare arm of Sir Richard Branson’s empire, Virgin Healthcare, will take control of Assura’s walk-in centre practice after coughing up £4m for the business. Assura will [...]
Carillion sees profits surge March 3, 2010 CARILLION has recorded a 16 per cent increase in profit thanks to a strong performance from its Middle East business. The British building and support services group yesterday revealed an underlying pre-tax profit of £182.2m in 2009, beating analysts expectations of £176.9m and up from £157.5m it posted in 2008. The company has defied the [...]
Daniel Stewart bolsters cash position before growth drive March 3, 2010 INCOMING Daniel Stewart boss Adam Wilson yesterday gave a bullish update on the state of play at the stockbroker, as it unveiled a £2m fundraising deal to complete the restructuring of its balance sheet. Daniel Stewart has conditionally raised £0.5m by placing 25m shares with investment firm Brainspark, giving it a 6.66 per cent stake. [...]
ROSE MULLS EARLY EXIT March 3, 2010 MARKS & Spencer executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose yesterday said he was likely to leave the company before his expected departure date of July 2011 – although he has no plans for an exit this year. Rose, who will be succeeded as chief executive on 1 May by Marc Bolland, the former chief executive of [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CARILLION’S RESULTS? March 3, 2010 CHRIS MILLINGTON | NUMIS “Good full-year figures and a confident statement [backed by a meaningful dividend increase] provide further confirmation of the group’s strong positioning and strategy in its markets. The shares have recently been weak in line with UK construction stocks.” ANDY BROWN | PANMURE “We believe that Carillion will be a beneficiary of [...]
CITY BROKER ISN’T JUST HORSING AROUND WITH NEW POLO VENTURE March 3, 2010 IT’S SET to be a good year for Daniel Fox-Davies, the jovial boss of City stockbroker Fox-Davies Capital. Foxy, you see, is a bit of a dark horse when it comes to his extra-curricular hobbies – along with running his oil and gas-focused brokerage, he spends much of his free time flying jets and helicopters, [...]
Taylor Wimpey upbeat despite large 2009 loss March 3, 2010 TAYLOR Wimpey posted full-year losses of £640.6m yesterday but said there were signs that the house-building market is on the up. The results were an improvement on last year when it recorded a deficit of £1.97bn. However, its revenue for 2009 slipped to £2.5bn from £3.4bn in 2008. The company said “improving conditions” had led [...]