Nat Express driving on to better times December 21, 2009 BUS and rail operator National Express claimed to be back on track – reporting a stable fourth quarter with profits set to be in line with forecasts. The company said underlying revenues at its UK bus division had been boosted by four per cent thanks to a shake-up in fares and new marketing drives. National [...]
Fate uncertain for Lederman December 21, 2009 TURQUOISE chief executive Eli Lederman’s fate is hanging in the balance after his firm yesterday confirmed its tie-up with the London Stock Exchange’s Baikal dark pool trading platform. Lederman is understood to be in ongoing talks with the LSE over his potential role after the deal completes in February, though no decision has yet been [...]
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR NATIONAL EXPRESS? December 21, 2009 ED WOOLFITT | GALVAN RESEARCH “Following what can only be described as a near catastrophic year for National Express, the underlying revenue trend has stabilised in Q4, in line with the previously reported performance. The trading statement presents National Express in a better light with cost efficiencies offsetting areas of revenue weakness.” DAVID JONES | [...]
Minerva slips as bidder hits out at board December 21, 2009 PROPERTY group Minerva saw its shares dip yesterday after its biggest shareholder, Nathan Kirsh, who has launched a hostile bid, accused the board of damaging the company’s prospects. Kirsh, who owns 29.9 per cent of Minerva through his investment vehicle KiFin and has mounted a takeover bid worth £85m, said: “The actions taken by the [...]
House prices to rise in 2010 December 21, 2009 HOUSE prices will continue to creep up in the New Year but end next year just one to two per cent higher than where they are now, according to new research published today. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicts that the housing market will revive, with transactions rising to a monthly average of [...]
Services sector will see slow-paced turnaround December 21, 2009 BRITAIN’S business services sector has hit the bottom and is tipped to start its recovery around the turn of the year. However, the recovery will be dented by looming public spending cuts, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warns today. With the public sector making up at least 15 per cent of total [...]
Number of serious US prime mortgage delinquencies surges 20pc in 12 weeks December 21, 2009 SERIOUS delinquencies among US prime mortgages rose nearly 20 percent in the third quarter from the prior quarter, as the percentage of current and performing mortgages fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, banking regulators said on Monday. The report by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which are [...]
France to return Swiss HSBC private bank data December 21, 2009 FRANCE will return client data stolen by a former employee of a Geneva branch of HSBC to Switzerland, a French justice official said, in a bid to ease tensions that could undermine an accord to fight tax evasion. An official from the justice ministry in Paris said magistrates in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence would [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL YOU BE DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR? December 21, 2009 KRISTINE HEALY | CQC “I do hope it will snow this year, as I can’t remember ever having a white Christmas. It’s not looking very likely with the drizzle, but we can always hope. I did spend December one year in Australia, but it wasn’t the same – the best Christmas is always in England.” [...]
ECB member warns of addiction December 21, 2009 Banks should not become addicted to central bank money, European Central Bank executive board member Juergen Stark said yesterday. He also said the ECB would remove its non-traditional measures gradually and progressively, and warned that the longer the extraordinary support remains in place, the worse their side effects would become.