New finance chief lined up for the EU November 26, 2009 FINLAND’S Olli Rehn is likely to take charge of European Union economic and monetary affairs and Spaniard Joaquin Almunia is expected to become the bloc’s antitrust chief, EU diplomats said yesterday. The posts are two of the most powerful in the European Commission, the EU’s executive, and the changes are part of efforts to increase [...]
DMGT beats estimates for profit slump November 26, 2009 NEWSPAPER group Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) yesterday beat forecasts with a 23 per cent drop in pre-tax profits, adding that profitability at its UK consumer businesses showed a sharp improvement in the latter half of the year. The group, which owns the Daily Mail mid-market newspaper, said adjusted revenue fell eight per cent [...]
Tesco is serious about building a profitable telco November 26, 2009 It’s hard to think of two brands more different than Apple and Tesco. One is famed for its sleek gadgets, while the other piles high and sells cheap the kind of electronic goods that wouldn’t look out of place in a Latvian discount store. A Lodus television and a Technika DVD player might be cheap, [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 26, 2009 AEA TECHNOLOGYRBS yesterday reduced its target price for AEA Technology to 27p and moderated its stance to “Hold” – despite the group’s 43 per cent jump in revenues and eight per cent lift in operating profits in the half year. But RBS?said it was concerned about AEA’s increased pension deficit of £137.6m. However, the broker [...]
Advertising and distribution setbacks drag on US profits at publisher Future November 26, 2009 NICHE publisher Future saw profits plunge over the past year after it was plagued by distribution problems in the US and freefalling advertising revenues. Future, whose magazines and websites range from computer gaming to cycling, said yesterday that adjusted pre-tax profit fell 41 per cent to £7.6m over the year to September, down from £12.9m [...]
ITV takes control of GMTV after it buys Disney stake November 26, 2009 BELEAGUERED broadcaster ITV yesterday said it has taken full control of morning TV group GMTV, after buying the remaining 25 per cent of the company from Walt Disney for £22.25m. ITV stumped up a one-off cash payment of £18m for Disney’s stake, topped up by a further £4.25m representing the estimated value of the cash [...]
European lending and money supply still weak November 26, 2009 GROWTH of broad money in the Eurozone sharply fell in October to a record low of 0.3 per cent year-on-year, while lending to non-financial firms remained firmly in negative territory last month. Base effects saw private sector lending growth fall to -0.8 per cent from -0.3 per cent in September, entirely driven by the steep [...]
Aviva unveils new UK chief November 26, 2009 INSURER Aviva has announced a shake-up of its business with a new boss and management structure. The move will see its UK Life and Pensions unit come under the leadership of new chief executive Mark Hodges. Under the restructure, which will take effect on 1 January, a series of other executive changes will also be [...]
Investors grill Lloyds bosses on HBOS deal November 26, 2009 TOP executives of Lloyds Banking Group were given an uncomfortable afternoon by a large turnout of angry shareholders in Birmingham yesterday. Though they voted 99 per cent in favour of the group’s record £13.5bn rights issue, both the chairman and chief executive were grilled repeatedly over the bank’s takeover of HBOS. Lloyds Banking Group called [...]
Low copper prices strike Antofagasta November 26, 2009 CHILEAN copper miner Antofagasta said yesterday that weak copper prices and a decline in output had severely impacted its business over the first nine months of the year, causing losses to spiral out of control. The London Stock Exchange-listed firm posted a pre-tax loss of $125m (£75.8m) over the nine months to September, more than [...]