TPG SELLS DEBENHAMS STAKE October 27, 2009 US private equity firm TPG has sold its remaining nine per cent stake in Debenhams for around £100m. The retailer, which is headed by chief executive Rob Templeman (pictured), also saw its other private equity investor CVC Capital sell down the majority of its stake back in June. The disposal of TPG’s stake leaves the [...]
Lloyd’s: equity market rally is nearing end October 27, 2009 THE stock market rally has run out of steam, according to Lloyd’s of London. The world’s oldest insurance market yesterday poured cold water over hopes that surging equity prices would continue to rise into the latter stages of the year and into 2010. Pointing out that shares had risen 50 per cent since March, Lloyd’s [...]
BP SMASHES EXPECTATIONS October 27, 2009 OIL major BP smashed market expectations yesterday as it released third-quarter profits that were down year-on-year but still managed to wow investors. Profits were down 50 per cent from the $10bn (£5.8bn) it reported a year ago, at $4.98bn. This was because oil now trades at around $80 a barrel, plummeting from a peak of [...]
Sports Direct will fight to keep its Blacks holding October 27, 2009 Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is ready to defend its claim to a 28.5 per cent stake in outdoor goods firm Blacks Leisure, rejecting a counter claim by administrators of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. “Sports Direct is in the process of taking an action against Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and its administrators, Ernst & Young,” Sports [...]
CBI: recovery on way for the high street October 27, 2009 SALES on Britain’s high streets grew in October at their fastest annual rate in almost two years, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said yesterday, raising hopes that the retail sector will see a recovery sooner rather than later. In its monthly distributive trades survey, the business lobby said that a net balance of eight [...]
IS BP RIDING OUT THE THE SLUMP IN OIL PRICES? October 27, 2009 MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD HANSONWESTHOUSE“Try as I might, I can’t find any flaws in the numbers and the company is reaping the reward of the action taken by Tony Hayward, in particular to attack the cost base.” TONY SHEPARD CHARLES STANLEY“These were a good set of figures from BP and sets a high benchmark for other oil [...]
Postal strife hurts Barratt October 27, 2009 PROPERTY group Barratt Developments yesterday voiced concerns that national postal strikes might affect the take-up of its £720m rights issue. Barratt Developments issued a notice to shareholders urging them to promptly take up their share entitlement, or use another courier service to return their applications. In a statement to the stock market yesterday, the company [...]
Big Four accountants retain hold over blue-chip audit jobs October 27, 2009 ATTEMPTS to inject more competition into firms that audit UK company books have suffered a setback as figures released yesterday showed the “Big Four” accountants maintaining their stranglehold on the sector. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) set up a market participants group three years ago which made recommendations to spread this business more evenly. It [...]
STRIKE ANNOUNCEMENT DUE October 27, 2009 The postal union will announce today whether it is pressing on with a three-day strike, due to start tomorrow. The CWU has been in talks with Royal Mail bosses after a 48-hour walk-out among postal staff last week, which threw businesses into chaos. Workers are protesting over modernisation. Politicians and business leaders have urged both [...]
Government gets tough on credit cards October 27, 2009 GOVERNMENT plans designed to help consumers pay off debt faster met a mixed reaction yesterday. Revealing the government’s intention to reduce the amount of overall interest paid, consumer minister Kevin Brennan said it is time credit and store card firms “get their act together”. He added: “My opinion is clear, the current relationship between card [...]