Demand for luxury goods aids Burberry October 14, 2009 Luxury fashion retailer Burberry yesterday smashed City forecasts as shoppers rushed to get this season’s latest handbags and accessories. Burberry reported revenue of £343m in the three months ended 30 September, down five per cent at constant currencies, but ahead of analyst forecasts of £320m to £335m. Chief financial officer Stacey Cartwright said the group [...]
Bear fund managers lied to investors, court is told October 14, 2009 TWO former Bear Stearns managers whose hedge funds collapsed early in the financial crisis lied to investors to save their bonuses and reputation, a US prosecutor said in an opening statement at their trial on fraud charges. Fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin – the first Wall Streeters to face criminal charges since the [...]
Maternity leave too long, says fund veteran Pease October 14, 2009 MATERNITY leave is too long at 52 weeks and is damaging women’s opportunities in the workplace, deputy chairman of investment house JO Hambro Nichola Pease told a Treasury committee yesterday. In an evidence session on the City gender divide, Pease said: “A year is too long and sex discrimination cases that run into the tens [...]
Square Mile to lead rise in office rents October 14, 2009 Global real estate adviser DTZ yesterday said rents in the City would rise by eight per cent in 2010 – faster than previously expected. And DTZ said that London would lead the rest of Europe out of the property slump, due to a lack of supply in the capital. It upgraded its forecasts after the [...]
Robert Hanson takes on chairmanship at Strand October 14, 2009 ROBERT Hanson, son of the renowned late industrialist Lord Hanson, has agreed to become chairman of investment banking boutique Strand Partners, in which he has taken a 10 per cent stake. Strand Partners has now been renamed Strand Hanson to mark the involvement of Hanson, who set up investment firm Hanson Capital after resigning from [...]
China’s forex reserves reach a record high October 14, 2009 CHINA has added to its vast vault of foreign exchange reserves, as the value of its yen and euro assets was buoyed by the weakness of the dollar and foreign companies saw the Communist state as an increasingly attractive investment prospect. The People’s Bank of China said its holdings of foreign currency rose by $141bn [...]
Bundesbank staff battle cuts October 13, 2009 STAFF of Germany’s Bundesbank yesterday gathered in protest at the central bank’s plan to close local offices and slash jobs. Around 1,500 staff assembled outside the Bundesbank headquarters in Frankfurt to demonstrate against plans to close 14 of 47 regional offices by 2012, with another nine to go by 2015. The initial round of closures [...]
Former Enron boss gets an appeal on technicality October 13, 2009 THE US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling against his 2006 conviction for fraud. Skilling, who is serving a 24-year sentence for his involvement in the giant accounting fraud, has secured an appeal after his lawyers argued his 19 convictions were based on flawed legal theory. [...]
Bellway looks on bright side as profits fall October 13, 2009 HOUSEBUILDER Bellway has said it is well positioned for the future, despite the fact it saw an 82 per cent fall in full-year profits last year. The group said its pre-tax profits in the year to end-July were £29.8m, compared to £165.7m in the previous year, but this was slightly ahead of market expectations. Including [...]
FREE (DELIVERY) TO A GOOD HOME October 13, 2009 Amazon UK is offering free delivery on everything in the run up to Christmas, scrapping the previous £5 threshold to qualify for the service. Free delivery will apply for all items until January 1, but does not apply to goods from third party sellers trading on Amazon. Amazon UK, along with Argos and eBay, is [...]