October earnings season crucial for market rally September 20, 2009 SO THE FTSE 100 is on course for its best quarterly performance since inception back in 1984. From June it has rallied nearly 22 per cent with some of the strongest and perhaps most surprising gains coming in the last couple of weeks. Surprising because we entered September with warnings ringing in our ears that [...]
Rolls-Royce in fight for F-136 US engine deal September 20, 2009 ROLLS-ROYCE, the aerospace company, is lobbying in the US to stop funding from being pulled on its major F-136 engine deal. The contract for the engines, which are for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, could be lost because of defence spending cuts laid out by President Obama earlier this year. Rolls-Royce has been developing [...]
Tiffany upbeat despite downturn September 20, 2009 Luxury jewellery chain Tiffany remains upbeat about trading prospects during the crucial Christmas holiday period but said its flagship New York store was still not in positive territory. “We are reasonably optimistic about the holiday season,” the firm’s president James Quinn said at an economic forum in Dublin. Trading remains difficult for the firm as [...]
Nicole Farhi in hopes of cost falls September 20, 2009 Fashion design house Nicole Farhi aims to manage costs by negotiating with European suppliers and hopes that strong internet trading will offset higher operating costs due to a weaker pound, its managing director said yesterday. The label’s parent company French Connection last week posted a pre-tax loss of £12.8m and said it would close underperforming [...]
Carlyle joins rivals in China dairy September 20, 2009 Private equity giant Carlyle said it had bought a minority stake in Yashili to help the leading Chinese infant formula maker improve its research and production. Washington-based Carlyle obtained a 17.3 per cent stake in Yashili, according to a statement. Carlyle’s deal came after rivals including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Sequoia Capital invested more than [...]
Obama fears over USjob growth September 20, 2009 President Barack Obama said yesterday that all signs point to the US economy starting to grow again but there may not be enough new jobs created until next year. “I want to be clear, that probably the jobs picture is not going to improve considerably and it could even get a little bit worse over [...]
Fed prepares to detail new bonus regime September 20, 2009 THE US Federal Reserve is to unveil a four-pronged approach to reforming remuneration structures, as the G20 world leaders prepare to meet in Pittsburgh this Friday, with pay and bonuses high on the agenda. America’s central bank, chaired by Ben Bernanke, aims to link pay to long-term performance, as part of an international drive to [...]
Cameron lands role with top City recruiter September 20, 2009 JOHNNY Cameron, the former RBS banker who shouldered much of the blame for the bank’s huge losses last year, has landed a job as a part-time adviser with headhunting firm Odgers Berndtson. Cameron, who was effectively barred from taking a senior role at another company by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) earlier this year, will [...]
Credit Suisse keeps talent September 20, 2009 CREDIT Suisse has been able to hold on to key talent and has accumulated a war chest it could use to make acquisitions, the chief executive of the Swiss bank Brady Dougan said yesterday. Dougan, whose bank rode out the sub-prime mortgage crisis without having to resort to state aid, said the bank had been [...]
Senate bank chair calls for creation of super-regulator September 20, 2009 THECHAIRMAN of the US senate banking committee has dealt a blow to President Barack Obama’s blueprint for financial reform by calling for the country’s four banking watchdogs to be merged into a single “super-regulator”. Senator Christopher Dodd told a US newspaper that he would introduce legislation that would form the basis of the Senate’s efforts [...]