CADBURY’S CARR REFUSES TO COSY UP TO KRAFT PREDATOR ROSENFELD February 4, 2010 IRENE Rosenfeld hasn’t exactly offered herself readily to the cameras during her ultimately successful five-month pursuit of chocolatier Cadbury, though The Capitalist hears there was at least one photograph of herself that the Kraft boss would have liked as a memento to her victory. As the two companies’ representatives filed out of the offices of [...]
Two Citigroup traders in departure to hedge fund February 4, 2010 TWO Citigroup proprietary traders are leaving the bank for a hedge fund amid concerns that Washington will crack down on proprietary trading at big banks. The traders, Matt Carpenter and Matt Newton, ran a proprietary trading unit for Citi, which has been under the thumb of regulators since it received a series of government bailouts. [...]
Top bankers hold bonus summit February 4, 2010 DEUTSCHE Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, has confirmed that investment banks met recently in a private meeting to thrash out ways of self-regulating bonuses, in an attempt to prevent regulators getting the upper hand. Ackermann, who emerged from the World Economic Forum in Davos last week as an unofficial spokesman for the banks, said the [...]
Vodafone is a big gainer on revenue rise February 4, 2010 VODAFONE’S sales jumped 10 per cent in the final quarter of last year, causing its shares to soar to the top of the FTSE 100 gainers list yesterday. Group revenue rose to £11.5bn – up from £10.47bn the year before. UK revenue was down by 4.9 per cent, compared to the 5.7 per cent decline [...]
Italian reservist Colao must hold his nerve February 4, 2010 VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao is a renowned cost cutter, but yesterday’s results were all about the top line. The world’s largest mobile operator by revenues has to prove that it is still a high-growth company and not a dependable utility. For that reason, investors will be relieved that the group booked revenues of £11.5bn, up [...]
Yell steadies the ship but its revenues continue to decline February 4, 2010 PUBLISHING group Yell saw signs of stability in the third quarter as the rate of revenue decline slowed. The FTSE 250-group reported a 13 per cent drop in revenue at constant currency rates for the three months to December yesterday – beating the 16 per cent guidance previously given. Revenue for the first nine months [...]
Panasonic bounces back after cost-cutting February 4, 2010 ELECTRONICS group Panasonic has reported its second straight quarterly profit – after an extensive cost-cutting campaign. Pre-tax profit between October and December came in at 32.3bn yen (£228m), compared with a net loss of 63.1bn for the same period a year earlier. The improvement was “due mainly to comprehensive streamlining of management”, the firm said. [...]
US unemployment in surprise drop February 4, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT in the US has dropped to a five-month low of 9.7 per cent. The new figures suggest the labour market is improving – even though employers unexpectedly shed 20,000 jobs in January. One poll of analysts had forecast that the unemployment rate would edge up to 10.1 per cent for the month, from 10 [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS PUBLISHER YELL GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ? February 4, 2010 SAM HART| CHARLES STANLEY Although the company is being upbeat, the outlook is not good for Yell. The company has major structural issues and the move from print to online operations is a headache. Shares did rise after the statement but sales are down in the UK and elsewhere – there are more problems ahead. [...]
Insurer Aviva is hit by poor life revenues February 4, 2010 Insurer Aviva yesterday reported weaker 2009 life sales, held back by tough economic conditions in the UK, and said its general insurance arm had been hit by hefty bad weather claims in the final quarter. Aviva had total 2009 life and pensions sales of £32bn, down 12 per cent from £36.24bn the previous year, the [...]