Shadow business secretary slams ‘ivory tower’ financial regulators as takeover bids cripple UK stock market
Boris Johnson taps business for 4.1bn of Crossrail funds July 30, 2009 MAYOR Boris Johnson yesterday outlined details of his plans to tap London firms to fund the Crossrail scheme, under which around half of the total tax revenue will be met by businesses on the City, Canary Wharf and Westminster patch. The plans state that from April 2010, an initial levy of 2p in the pound [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE TRAIN WORKERS RIGHT TO GO OUT ON STRIKE OVER PAY? July 30, 2009 STEPHEN BOTTOMEY PARALEGAL“I’m not really bothered on this occasion as it wasn’t my train line, however I do disagree with the strikes when the workers have already received above inflation rises. What about the people who have taken cuts and can’t get to work now?”IMOGEN EBBS MAPELEY ESTATES“If it is purely due to pay then [...]
Mastercard recovery is priceless as credit card firm reverses loss July 30, 2009 CREDIT card firm Mastercard beat expectations to record second-quarter pre-tax earnings of $536m (£325m) yesterday, a dramatic recovery from last year’s loss of $1.22bn. The company saw net revenue in the three months to 30 June rise by 2.7 per cent to $1.28bn, ahead of the $1.25bn seen in last year’s second-quarter. Excluding currency fluctuations, [...]
Shell looks to axe more jobs in the slump July 30, 2009 SHELL, the world’s second biggest oil company, followed industry trends yesterday by posting a 70 per cent slump in profits on the back of lower crude prices and tumbling demand. Earnings for the second quarter plummeted from $7.9bn (£4.8bn) in the same period last year to just $2.3bn. New chief executive Peter Voser saw the [...]
Exxon Mobil profit plunges by 66 per cent July 30, 2009 EXXON Mobil, the US oil giant, posted a steeper-than-expected 66 per cent fall in second-quarter profit as natural gas and crude oil prices slid from a year ago and the global recession hurt demand for fuel. Exxon Mobil, which raked in record profits last year, has seen earnings wither as crude oil prices have fallen [...]
Nat Express bidder pleas for rail lines July 30, 2009 THE Spanish-led group bidding for National Express has appealed to the UK government not to strip the troubled transport group of its last two rail franchises. The consortium – made up Spain’s Cosmen family, the largest shareholder in National Express, and private equity group CVC – have made any takeover of the UK transport group [...]
AstraZeneca profits rise as imitations fail to dent sales July 30, 2009 DRUGMAKER AstraZeneca reported an 18 per cent jump in second-quarter pre-tax profits yesterday, as competition from imitations of its pharmaceuticals proved less fierce than expected. Pre-tax earnings rose to $2.61bn (£1.58bn), up from $2.47bn in the same quarter of 2008, bringing half-year profits to $5.61bn, 27 per cent ahead of last year’s six-month performance of [...]
Rensburg sees assets rise July 30, 2009 Rensburg Sheppards, the wealth manager, said yesterday its funds under management rose 8.4 per cent in the second quarter to £10.85bn, amid improving investor sentiment. The group said in a trading update all of its divisions posted growth in the quarter, with retail funds under management rising by 14.3 per cent to £880m.
Kodak posts second-quarter loss July 30, 2009 Eastman Kodak posted poor second-quarter results yesterday as weak demand hurt its film and digital photography businesses. Kodak posted a second-quarter loss of $189m (£115m), or 70 cents a share, compared with a profit of $495m, or $1.72, a year earlier. Kodak said sales fell sharply as a global recession limited consumer spending on travel [...]
BASF sees a drop in profits July 30, 2009 BASF, the German chemicals firm, warned of a significant drop in sales and earnings this year and said its second-quarter net profit plummeted nearly 74 per cent to €343m (£318m). The recession cut into sales and its acquisition of speciality chemicals firm Ciba also hit profits. The world’s largest chemical company by revenues said yesterday [...]