Finance firms set to recruit as slump ends February 15, 2010 THE UK’s finance and accountancy sectors are once again recruiting much-needed talent as they shun recruitment freezes and pay cuts that marked 2009, according to a report by recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark. According to the study, more than 20 per cent of the employers said they lacked the accounting and finance skills needed to [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS February 15, 2010 INFORMA Informa’s resilience through the recession has driven Collins Stewart’s “buy”recommendation. “A strong entrepreneurial culture and tight focus on costs helped eliminate the effects of operational gearing in 2009, with margins set to rise to record levels,” it says. But its Achilles heel is its balance sheet, it warns. SPEEDY HIRE Panmure has issued a [...]
EMIS in £50m flotation on Aim February 15, 2010 Healthcare software supplier EMIS Group yesterday launched a £50m initial public offering on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), to fund a growth drive at the company. The deal, arranged by Evolution Securities, is expected to kick off bookbuilding towards the end of the month.
Indy extends Lebedev deadline February 15, 2010 Publishing group Independent News & Media said yesterday it had extended talks with Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev over the future ownership of its two loss-making national newspapers. The group, which entered into an exclusive non-binding agreement with Lebedev regarding its titles in December, extended the deadline to 26 Feb to bring discussions to a successful [...]
L’Oreal enjoys sales jump February 15, 2010 French company L’Oreal pledged to improve turnover and earnings in 2010 when posting fourth-quarter sales below forecasts yesterday. It said it will focus on luxury products such as Yves Saint Laurent make-up and Lancome creams. The Paris-based group, which also sells Garnier shampoo and Vichy face creams, said it had come out of 2009 stronger [...]
The cost of insuring Dubai’s debt soars on repayment fears February 15, 2010 The cost of insuring five-year Dubai debt against default jumped to its highest level since March yesterday as concerns intensified over the debt restructuring of state-owned conglomerate Dubai World. Nervousness over the fate of Dubai World debt grew after it was reported the business is mulling a two-part deal, including one that may repay lenders [...]
Building societies draft new capital instruments February 15, 2010 BUILDING society deposits will be more secure under plans being drawn up to change the way mutuals hold core tier one capital. The industry is two thirds of the way towards creating new instruments with the working title of mutual ordinary deferred shares (Mods). Like bonds, Mods will carry a coupon but will be exposed [...]
Recovery is in sight as sales rise at Jaguar February 15, 2010 LUXURY car group Jaguar Land Rover nearly trebled its sales last month against January a year ago, sparking hopes that the recession-hit car industry may be emerging from the slump. Jaguar Land Rover, which has plants in the Midlands and on Merseyside, sold 16,269 vehicles during the month, of which 2,974 were Jaguars, up 122 per [...]
Japan boosted by GDP growth February 15, 2010 JAPAN yesterday beat forecasts by reporting fourth-quarter GDP figures which maintained its position as the world’s second largest economy. Real GDP grew 1.1 per cent from October to December last year compared to the previous quarter – equivalent to an annualised growth rate of 4.6 per cent, according to official government figures. The boost means [...]
Indian shares squeezed after Bharti’s African bid February 15, 2010 INDIAN shares fell 0.7 per cent yesterday, with Bharti Airtel sliding to its lowest close in more than two months as investors gave a thumbs down to its $10.7bn (£6.8bn) bid to buy Kuwaiti Zain’s African assets. “Bharti dampened the sentiment today,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital. Investors were concerned Bharti may have [...]