ARE WE STARTING TO SEE SOME GREEN SHOOTS? June 25, 2009 JAMES DONALDSON DRIVERS JONAS, PROPERTY CONSULTANCY“In the housing market we’re seeing a definite growth in the short term. But whether or not that will last is another question. It’s entirely possible it’s only a short term recovery. Consumer confidence won’t bounce straight back into action until the banks start properly lending.” BRIAN RANSLEY COMO, SPECIALIST [...]
Misys reports robust revenue June 25, 2009 Software company Misys said yesterday that total revenue for the year to 31 May rose about 40 per cent to £695m, helped by the creation of its Allscripts-Misys healthcare business in October last year. The company, which also provides solutions for the financial sector, said that total order intake increased by 60 per cent to [...]
Strong order book at Costain June 25, 2009 Construction firm Costain said yesterday its forward order book rose to a record high in the first half of the year, thanks to significant new contract wins. The firm’s forward order book currently stands at £2.4bn, 20 per cent above this time last year. Costain won a number of new contracts over the period, including [...]
Goldshield reports profit spike June 25, 2009 Generic drugs supplier Goldshield Group posted a 72 per cent leap in profits yesterday after announcing on Wednesday it had received a bid approach from an unnamed party. Pre-tax profit for the year rose to £21.3m, while sales were up 16 per cent to £98.4m. Goldshield said it had seen an encouraging start to the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYOTA WANTS MORE NIMBLE FIRMAkio Toyoda, the new chief executive of Toyota Motor, yesterday pledged to bring a looser, more nimble management style to the carmaker, which is facing its biggest crisis since Sakichi Toyoda – his grandfather and Toyota’s founder – ran the company six decades ago. Mr Toyoda promised “to do [...]
Spain to offer banks bailout, Russia might June 25, 2009 THE SPANISH government is to establish a €90bn (£77bn) fund for its financial institutions, while Russia is pondering a similar rescue package for its own banks. Spain’s cabinet meets today and is likely to approve a proposal which will see lenders, including those who are not deemed to have capital shortfalls, given access to a [...]
UBS to raise 2.1bn as it warns of loss June 25, 2009 SWISS bank UBS, one of the world’s hardest-hit banks in the financial crisis, said yesterday it would raise about Sfr3.8bn (£2.1bn) of equity capital and warned it would fall to a net loss in the second quarter of 2009. UBS is offering about 293.3m new shares at a price of Sfr13.00 per share, a 6.9 [...]
NOT GUILTY, YOUR HONOUR June 25, 2009 TEXAS financier Allen Stanford pleaded “not guilty” to a $7bn (£4.3bn) fraud last night in a Texas court. Stanford could face life in prison if he is convicted of the alleged fraud, relating to his Antigua bank. A judge set the bail bond at $500,000.
Barclays’ Lehman deal probed June 25, 2009 A US bankruptcy judge has ruled that Lehman Brothers Holdings has the right to investigate the details of the sale of its broker-dealer unit to Barclays, to determine whether the UK bank got “too good of a deal”. Barclays snapped up the brokerage last year after Lehman filed for bankruptcy, but the company’s lawyers now [...]
Bernanke defiant over BoA deal June 25, 2009 Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke last night denied that he had strongarmed Bank of America (BoA) into buying Merrill Lynch in a $50bn (£30.5bn) deal, in testimony before a congressional committee. BoA chief executive Kenneth Lewis has claimed that he was pressured into the deal by former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson, at Bernanke’s request. The [...]