Serious Fraud Office not chasing UK Madoff office February 2, 2010 THE Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday confirmed it will not pursue charges against the UK arm of Bernard Madoff’s investment firm as it seeks to broaden its investigation. “Following a thorough review of all the available evidence (the SFO) has decided to take no action against either the company or its directors, there being insufficient [...]
Arm Holdings boosted by chip demand February 2, 2010 A surge in demand for smartphones helped chip designer ARM Holdings win market share and beat analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter, but the economic downturn still trimmed pre-tax profit by four per cent. “(Chipmakers) are designing more ARM technology into an increasingly broad range of end-markets applications, with mobile computing, smartphones and microcontrollers being [...]
Hype of Apple’s iPad is better than the reality February 2, 2010 The launch of the Apple iPad at the end of last week led to a strong increase in the buzz score for the general Apple brand as measured by BrandIndex. That might have been expected, but graph one shows a more mixed story: at the start of 2010, with excited consumer chatter about the imminent [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS February 2, 2010 Jupiter The asset manager has appointed John Chatfeild-Roberts as chief investment officer. Chatfeild-Roberts joined the firm in 2001 as head of the Jupiter Merlin fund of funds team, a role in which he will continue. Since 2000, Edward Bonham Carter has combined the chief investment officer role with his position as chief executive of Jupiter. [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 2, 2010 WM MORRISON JP Morgan upgrades Morrison’s to “overweight” ahead of its results on 11 March. Calculates that Morrison’s has grown three-fold over the past seven years, helped by its Safeway purchase. Says its sales densities are up by around 30 per cent, and reckons it has the “strongest topline momentum in the UK,” as well [...]
Australia keeps rates on hold February 2, 2010 Australia’s central bank shocked markets by skipping an interest rate rise yesterday, citing the impact of higher mortgage rates at home while noting tighter policy in China and concerns over sovereign debt abroad. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep its key cash rate at 3.75 per cent confounded expectations of a rise to [...]
BP annual profits plunge February 2, 2010 OIL giant BP has seen its annual profits plunge 45 per cent after lower oil and gas prices and depressed refining margins took their toll last year. The FTSE 100 group posted replacement cost profits – a measure that takes into account the cost of replacing the company’s oil reserves at current prices – of [...]
New Look to float on stock exchange February 2, 2010 BUDGET High Street fashion chain New Look is planning to float on the stock exchange in a bid to raise £650m. The company, owned by Permira and Apax, said that new shares would be used to pay down debts and help bankroll its expansion plans. It said that a secondary sell-down by existing shareholders was [...]
Madoff’s London unit escapes fraud charges February 2, 2010 THE Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said it will not take any action against Madoff Securities International – a London arm of frausdster Berine Madoff’s business empire. Directors of the Mayfair-based business have also escaped charges as prosecutors had “insufficient evidence”. The SFO said in a statement there isn’t enough evidence to “provide a realistic [...]
Bolland given £15m mission to save M&S February 1, 2010 THE OUTGOING boss of supermarket chain Morrisons is set for a “golden hello” worth up to £15m after accepting one of the toughest missions on the high street – to turn around Marks and Spencer. Dutch Marc Bolland will receive the package in pay, bonuses and compensation for giving up his previous job when he [...]