Loss for F&C as assets fall August 5, 2009 F&C ASSET Management said yesterday it swung to a pre-tax loss of £11.3m in the first half of the year, after client withdrawals from its funds ballooned to £3.3bn in the second quarter. The group held its interim dividend at 2p yesterday after reporting the loss, which compared to a £3.4m gain in the same [...]
More rail chaos as drivers stage strike August 5, 2009 CITY workers are set for further commuting strife today, after talks between the RMT union and National Express East Anglia fell apart yesterday. A 48-hour walkout, the second in a set of four strikes planned over the summer, started at midnight last night. The East Anglia route is a major channel for City commuters, shuttling [...]
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS August 5, 2009 ITV IS SET to sell its social network Friends Reunited for just £25m to Brightsolid, a subsidiary of Beano publisher DC Thomson, having bought the site for £170m less than four years ago. The ailing broadcaster was last night thrashing out the terms of a deal with the Dundee-based publisher and hopes to announce the [...]
Marsh & McLennan suffers on back of Kroll writedown August 5, 2009 MARSH & MCLENNAN (MMC), the world’s second largest global insurance broker, posted quarterly results in line with expectations yesterday and forecast improved profitability for its brokerage business. The US firm reported a second-quarter net loss, hurt by a $315m (£185m) charge on the restructuring of Kroll, its security consulting business. The firm posted a $193m [...]
China faces 413m bank fraud August 5, 2009 China is dealing with its largest suspected bank fraud, after the chairman of a large property firm, Canton Properties, appeared in court yesterday facing allegations over a 4.8bn yuan (£413m) scam. Wang Sheng is believed to have obtained a number of illegal loans from Bank of Communications, a state controlled lender, 18.6 per cent owned [...]
Swiss Re falls into red as volatile markets damage bond portfolio August 5, 2009 ZURICH reinsurance giant Swiss Re posted a shock second-quarter net loss yesterday following heavy losses on its bond investments, and warned the difficult market conditions will continue to hurt. The firm said it made a net loss of Sfr381m (£212m), compared with a profit of Sfr564m for the same period a year earlier. The loss [...]
O2 fears loss of iPhone exclusivity August 5, 2009 O2 is bracing itself for losing a monopoly to sell Apple’s iPhone in the UK. O2’s exclusivity deal with Apple could end on 9 October due to a two year break clause in its contract. T–Mobile and Orange are both believed to be waiting for a slice of Apple’s lucrative business.
TURBULENCE AHEAD August 5, 2009 HONG KONG’S leading airline Cathay Pacific Airways posted first-half pre-tax profits of HK$1.18bn (£89.7m) yesterday, up from a loss of HK$660m in the same period last year, helped out by gains in fuel hedging. The airline said it had enough cash to buy aircraft, but warned of a difficult market ahead.
Correction: John Connolly August 5, 2009 We stated yesterday that Deloitte senior partner and chief executive of the UK office and chairman of its global management committee John Connolly was the chief auditor to RBS. This is not the case.
Jamie Oliver cooks up a storm August 5, 2009 Jamie Oliver, the celebrity chef yesterday revealed one of his subsidiary companies made £6.8m pre-tax profits last year, an 82 per cent jump on the year before. The sale of TV shows overseas and book sales meant turnover increased by 18 per cent. Oliver and his wife Jools awarded themselves a dividend payout of £800,000 for [...]