Cuts at Starbucks pay off July 21, 2009 COFFEE chain giant Starbucks booked a rise in quarterly profit yesterday as it reaped the benefit of closing outlets and cutting costs. Net income for the firm’s third quarter, ending 28 June, was $151.5m (£919m), or $0.20 per share, reversing a loss of $6.7m, or $0.01 per share, for the same period in the previous [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 21, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES WYNN RESORTS LEADS IN RACE TO LIST IN HONG KONGA Las Vegas-based casino company has taken the lead in a race to become the first international casino operator to list in Hong Kong, taking advantage of investor appetite for stocks with links to the world’s biggest gambling market. Wynn Resorts, controlled by Steve [...]
Caterpillar expects recovery July 21, 2009 US construction and mining bellwether Caterpillar reported a 66 per cent slide in second-quarter profit yesterday but upgraded its outlook for the year as cost cuts took effect. Profits fell to $371m (£225.6m) from $1.11bn. But the firm raised its 2009 forecast to a profit of $2.25 a share, from an April prediction of $1.25.
Merck looks ahead to merger July 21, 2009 Drugmaker Merck saw second-quarter net income fall 12 per cent to $1.59bn (£967m), or $0.74 a share, yesterday. Excluding one-off items, the company earned $0.83 a share, beating an analysts’ consensus forecast of $0.77. Revenue fell 2.9 per cent to $5.9bn, a decline the company hopes to reverse with its plan to spend $44bn on [...]
DuPont stands firm on forecast July 21, 2009 Chemical firm DuPont maintained its earnings forecast yesterday, despite profits falling 61 per cent to $417m (£254), or $0.46 a share. DuPont forecast annual earnings of between $1.70 and $2.10 a share.
Worst June on record for state deficit July 21, 2009 SURGING government spending and a collapse in tax receipts meant Britain’s public finances were the worst in June since records began in 1993, although the figures were better than had been expected. Official data released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that public sector net borrowing hit £13bn in June. Net debt [...]
FTSE enjoys best run in four years July 21, 2009 THE FTSE 100 has had its best run in four years after companies around the world delivered better-than-expected results. The index of top-rated companies ended a seventh day of rises one per cent higher at 4481.17. It is the best winning streak since July 2005, with daily increases bringing the FTSE 100 up 8.7 per [...]
COKE PROFITS FIZZ July 21, 2009 COCA-COLA, the world’s largest beverage maker, yesterday beat expectations with a 43 per cent rise in second-quarter profit thanks to rapid growth outside of the US. Coca-Cola said it earned $2.04bn (£1.24bn) in the three months ending 3 July, up from $1.42bn a year earlier.
MorgStan gets fixed income boss July 21, 2009 Morgan Stanley has drafted in a new head of fixed income ahead of today’s second quarter results, which are likely to show a loss of about $0.46 (£0.28) per share. Jack DiMaio, a former head of fixed income for Credit Suisse in north America, will be head of interest rate, credit and currency trading, replacing [...]
China to back acquisition spree July 21, 2009 Beijing will make use of its foreign exchange reserves to back its companies in their efforts to buy up firms on foreign soil, Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao said yesterday. “We should hasten the implementation of our ‘going out’ strategy and combine the utilisation of foreign exchange reserves with the ‘going out’ of our enterprises,” [...]