Ladbrokes launches 275m cash call in a bid to relieve debt as revenues fall October 8, 2009 LADBROKES, the book maker, yesterday announced a fully underwritten £275m cash call to pay down its debt, as it revealed its revenue had fallen by 15 per cent in the third quarter due to “exceptionally low” margins on football and horsing bets. The betting firm, which has already had to withheld its interim payments to [...]
Sales jump at Halfords on bike lift October 8, 2009 THE boom in commuter cycling and stay-at-home holidaymakers yesterday boosted Halfords as it reported sales growth for the successive quarter. The bike, camping products and car maintenance retailer yesterday reported sales rose by 3.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to last Friday. And like-for-like sales made a 2.2 per cent jump, up from a [...]
Carluccio’s dines out as new openings lift profits October 8, 2009 ITALIAN restaurant and retail group, Carluccio’s, yesterday said it expected to deliver full-year underlying pre-tax profits slightly ahead of its expectations as it experienced good trading in the period. For the 52 weeks ended 27 September, the company – headed by chief executive Simon Kossoff – said its revenue grew eight per cent. Carluccio’s, which [...]
C&C cider sales fall as volumes weaken October 8, 2009 DRINKS group C&C, the maker of Magners cider, yesterday posted a fall in first-half sales and operating profit and said volumes had dipped at the end of the period. C&C said cider volumes were flat for the six months to the end of August but had slowed in the last month of the half-year and [...]
Amazon’s Kindle could annoy the publishing trade October 8, 2009 AT last, Amazon’s much-hyped Kindle is upon us, with a Europe-wide release date scheduled for 19 October. For anyone who doubts just how big e-books are going to be, consider this: the Kindle version of Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol, is outselling the hardcover edition on Amazon. Earlier this week, Forrester Research upped [...]
JP Morgan AM puts Thompson in top UK job October 8, 2009 JP MORGAN Asset Management, the two-century old fund manager, has appointed Roger Thompson as head of its UK arm. Thompson has been at the firm for 16 years and is moving up to the top job after serving as chief financial officer of its international business since 2003. A former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor, who is also [...]
US fiscal deficit at record high October 8, 2009 America’s government deficit will reach $1.4 trillion – or 9.9 per cent of GDP – in the fiscal year ending 30 September, analysts at the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday. In the 2008 fiscal year, the deficit was $459bn. The US Treasury is due to publish its official figures later this month.
Rise in German industrial output October 8, 2009 German industrial production climbed 1.7 per cent in August compared to July when it fell a downwardly revised 1.1 per cent. The rise was driven by a 1.5 per cent jump in investment goods output. Government stimulus measures such as incentives to buy new cars are also thought to have helped.
Alcoa posts a surprise profit October 8, 2009 ALCOA shares rose by around four per cent yesterday after the aluminium producer reported its first profit in a year in what Wall Street viewed as a bellwether of how industrial companies are recovering. Five investment banks – Citigroup, Desjardins, UBS, RBC and S&P Research – raised Alcoa’s target stock price, a day after the [...]
Competition Commission rules against Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger October 8, 2009 THE Competition Commission yesterday ruled against the planned merger of Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation, saying it could lead to higher prices and less competition. The ticketing group and the world’s largest concert promoter announced their merger plan earlier this year, but it has raised antitrust concerns on both sides of the Atlantic and is [...]