Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods sticks to full-year profit guidance June 29, 2009 PREMIER Foods, Britain’s biggest food manufacturer, yesterday said profit forecasts for the full-year remained unchanged after trading in May and June continued in line with trends seen in the first four months. The consensus forecast for underlying pre-tax profit in 2009 currently stands at £176m. The group, whose brands include Mr Kipling cakes, Bisto gravy, [...]
Banks told to comply with tax reforms June 29, 2009 BANKS will be expected to manage their tax affairs in a way that is consistent with the government’s aim to crack down on tax avoidance, under plans laid out by the Treasury in a consultation document on its new code of practice on tax for banks. The voluntary code aims to ensure that banks “comply [...]
We need to rekindle our belief in the free market June 29, 2009 I ASKED my Iranian friends last week while the Twitter revolution burned bright in Tehran whether the fact that Iraq was now a democratic nation – albeit one with security issues – was a factor in the people’s non-acceptance of the election results. I half expected a “Silly American – no not at all” response. [...]
Central bankers want financial products to be ranked like drugs before being sold June 29, 2009 FINANCIAL products should undergo registration like medicines to curb investor access until safety is proven, according to the world’s central bankers. Policymakers were alarmed at how opaque and complex securitised products collapsed in value as the credit crunch began unfolding from mid-2007, despite being highly rated. This sparked huge writedowns by banks that shattered investor [...]
Allied Carpets puts store arm into administration June 29, 2009 ALLIED Carpets, the retail chain that was taken under the control of Hilco earlier this year, is placing the unit that owns the leases on its stores into administration. The administration of Allied Carpets Properties, by City accountancy BDO Stoy Hayward, is part of a wider restructuring that is likely to see the group slim [...]
Q & A : CODE OF PRACTICE ON TAX June 29, 2009 Q.What is the objective of the code?A.The government wants banks to “comply with the spirit, as well as the letter, of tax law”.Effectively, this places the onus on banks not to deny the government tax revenue. Q.What will banks be required to do?A.Banks will have to have a formal, documented strategy on tax, with directors [...]
LSE wins approval for Baikal June 29, 2009 Baikal, the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) new pan-European multi-lateral trading facility (MTF) dark pool service, has won regulatory approval from the Financial Services Authority. Dark pools allow large blocks of shares to be executed more easily than on the normal order book of an exchange, where trading is increasingly dominated by much smaller orders. The [...]
Oil up as Nigerian rebels strike June 29, 2009 Oil prices rose by nearly four per cent yesterday, on the back of news of fresh rebel attacks on oil installations in Nigeria, coupled with gains in the equity markets. Nigeria’s largest group of militants said its rebels had attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil facility in the Niger Delta. The attack comes just days [...]
Anglo Irish gets state funding June 29, 2009 Anglo Irish Bank said yesterday it had received a ¤3bn (£2.5bn capital injection from the Irish government, after the EU granted approval for state aid last week. The bank said it may receive a further ¤1bn, depending on the outcome of discussions to be held with the Department of Finance on a debt repurchase programme. [...]
Oil demand to flatline until 2012, says IEA June 29, 2009 THE International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its five-year forecast for worldwide oil demand yesterday, saying consumption won’t return to the same levels as last year until 2012, due to the downturn. In its medium-term oil market report, the body slashed oil forecasts for every year to 2013 by 3m barrels a day. By 2012, consumption [...]