Man Group assets take a hit January 15, 2010 THE world’s largest listed hedge fund manager Man Group has said assets have slipped back with a poor performance from its flagship AHL strategy. In the autumn Man’s assets began to recover from the effects of the credit crisis but the latest figures are a blow to the recovery. The company said that AHL saw [...]
Bovis boost to housing market January 14, 2010 BOVIS is the latest housebuilder to issue upbeat figures fuelling hopes of a recovery in the housing market. The company said profit forecasts were on target with the average sales price up 2.5 per cent on 2008 to £154,600 in 2009. Bovis completed 1,803 homes compared with 1,817 in 2008 – with 1,527 of those [...]
Pearson puts information company on market January 14, 2010 Pearson, the publisher of the Financial Times, has put its majority-owned financial information subsidiary on the market. Interactive Data Corporation (IDC) – which is 61 per cent-owned by the publishing group – has a market value of £1.5bn and is listed in New York. The company said in a statement: “Pearson and Interactive Data Corporation [...]
RBS earmarks £1bn for manufacturers January 14, 2010 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has set aside £1bn in new loans to help fuel a recovery in the UK’s manufacturing industry. The lender said it had “ring-fenced a fund specifically for the manufacturing sector”. The loans, ranging from £250,000 to £25m, will be offered on “competitive fixed rates and with the option to defer repayments [...]
Obama’s tax risks new credit crunch January 14, 2010 IT is clear that Barack Obama’s latest scheme to tax the banks, just like Gordon Brown’s own super-tax, will go down well with the electorate. But both will do little to make the economy more stable and will hurt the very people they are meant to be helping. Obama wants a 0.15% annual levy on [...]
Experian revenue up January 14, 2010 THE world’s largest credit information company Experian plc met expectations with a one per cent rise in third quarter revenue. Experian it had seen “further stabilisation” in North America, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of its profit, but remained cautious on Britain, where a recovery has been slower. Its strongest performing division [...]
European car sales rise in December January 14, 2010 EUROPEAN car sales surged by 16 per cent in December after a tough year. Total sales for 2009 were down 1.6 per cent on 2008, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed. Sales in the UK were down 6.4 per cent for the year while in December they soared by 39 per cent [...]
UK banks caught up in Obama supertax January 14, 2010 BRITISH banks are on the hook for billions of dollars under US government plans to hit Wall Street with a $117bn (£72bn) 10-year levy. Barclays Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC will fall within the scope of President Barack Obama’s charge, which is designed to recoup losses incurred by the Tarp scheme. Last night, [...]
Bosch plant faces closure with 900 job losses January 14, 2010 THE Bosch car parts factory near Cardiff is expected to close with the loss of 900 jobs, the company has announced. The plant is likely to shut at the end of an extended consultation period. Bosch had been considering two options for the future of the factory since October – either scaling back with 300 [...]
Haiti death toll still rising January 14, 2010 AS many as 50,000 people are thought to have died in Haiti’s devastating earthquake and three million more hurt or left homeless, as rescue teams last night continued a race against time to find survivors. A British rescue team with heavy lifting gear and dogs reached the country yesterday but aid is so far only [...]