Ray of hope for Unilever as profits hit August 6, 2009 CONSUMER goods giant Unilever yesterday provided a ray of hope that consumer confidence may be creeping back as it returned to growth in the second quarter of this year. The group behind brands ranging from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to Hellman’s Mayonnaise and Dove soap said sales volumes fell in most regions around the [...]
New loss for Commerzbank August 6, 2009 GERMANY’S Commerzbank has suffered a net loss of €746m (£636m) in the second quarter of the year as it battles through the financial crisis. The bank narrowed its first quarter loss of €861m, as revenues rose by 31 per cent to €3.1bn, compared to €2.3bn in the first quarter. Provisions against risky loans were up [...]
Deutsche Telekom close to unveiling T-Mobile fate August 6, 2009 DEUTSCHE Telekom yesterday said that its second-quarter core profit and sales were in line with expectations, and that it will present its strategy for T-Mobile UK in the coming weeks. The announcement will end months of speculation over whether the firm will sell its struggling UK operation to one of its competitors. Earnings in the [...]
Car sales rise on scrappage August 6, 2009 NEW car sales went up for the first time in 15 months in July, as business secretary Lord Mandelson’s “cash for bangers” scheme trickled down to dealers, helping drive up sales by 2.4 per cent year-on-year. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 157,149 new cars were registered in the UK last month, [...]
ARE YOU CHEERED BY UNILEVER’S RETURN TO GROWTH? August 6, 2009 GRAHAM JONES PANMURE GORDON“Unilever certainly deserves credit for restor-ing volume growth more strongly than we had expected, with two per cent growth in the second quarter after a fall. While we are trimming our sterling profit forecasts by four to five per cent to reflect recent sterling strength, we are raising our price target to [...]
LCCI speaks out on the C-charge August 6, 2009 The London Chamber of Commerce spoke out yesterday after TfL said it was looking into congestion charge exemptions for low emission cars, calling for more relaxed rules for businesses. “It would make much more sense for TfL to consider how to mitigate the effects for businesses, who are particularly badly hit by the C-charge,” it [...]
GLG’s losses ease as its assets soar August 6, 2009 HEDGE fund giant GLG Partners yesterday revealed its losses narrowed in the second quarter of the year, as rebounding markets helped its level of assets under management soar. The London-based, New York-listed firm said its second-quarter loss narrowed to $24.4m (£14.6m), compared with a loss of $93.6m in the same quarter last year. This came [...]
Offshore rig market is still ailing August 6, 2009 Analysts at Evolution said yesterday there was no sign of recovery in the offshore rig market. The broker added in its research note that leading industry player Transocean said it expected to have 26 of its jack-up rigs, equivalent to 40 per cent of its fleet, idle by the end of the year compared to [...]
Palm Oil warns on high raw price August 6, 2009 Palm oil producer New Britain Palm Oil expects higher raw material prices and new refining capacity to help to drive growth, it said yesterday, after reporting a sharp drop in first-half profit. The company said the price of palm oil, a cheap vegetable oil used for both food and fuel, had recovered to around $700 [...]
UK braced for postal strikes August 6, 2009 Postal workers will be balloted next month over whether to go on national strike, while thousands of Royal Mail staff will take part in industrial action against job cuts for three days from today, a union said yesterday. Royal Mail criticised the plans for a national strike, saying it would disrupt customers.