Venture capital plea for fund aid May 19, 2009 Business secretary Lord Mandelson has been urged to use the new £750m strategic investment fund to support the recession-battered venture capital sector. The fund, created in April’s Budget, was not earmarked for investment into specific areas but eight leading venture capital, biotechnology and IT trade bodies last night issued a plea for assitance. The proposal [...]
AIG names board nominees May 19, 2009 Crippled US insurer American International Group (AIG) yesterday named six nominees to sit as independent board members, in a move that was forced by the terms of its government bailout. The group, which has received some $180bn (£116bn) in US taxpayer aid, named Harvey Golub, Laurette Koellner, Christopher Lynch, Arthur Martinez, Robert Miller and Douglas [...]
HP gloomy as demand dives May 19, 2009 US high-tech electronics manufacturer Hewlett Packard (HP) said yesterday the slump in business and consumer spending continued to push down profits, warning it expects to see little growth this year. The group reported a 17 per cent profit fall to $1.7bn (£1bn) in the second quarter, down from a $2.1bn profit in the same period [...]
Job axe falls again at ABN Amro, Lloyds May 19, 2009 ANOTHER slew of redundancies swept the banking world yesterday as Lloyds Banking Group announced 625 new job losses and Dutch bank ABN Amro revealed plans to axe up to 6,500 workers as part of its integration with Fortis Bank Nederland. ABN Amro said between 5,500 and 6,500 would be cut, though the net impact of [...]
Tate & Lyle shares jump after new boss is announced May 19, 2009 SUGAR group Tate & Lyle has seen its shares skyrocket after it named Javed Ahmed, the 49-year old European head of consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser, as its chief executive. Shares of the battered Golden Syrup maker jumped 10.7 per cent in early trading, before closing up 8.2 per cent at 296p. They had fallen [...]
Regus update sparks fears rental recovery will be slower than hoped May 19, 2009 OFFICE rental company Regus reported a 16 per cent increase in revenues for the first four months of the year yesterday, but it admitted pressure on occupancy levels and falling prices impacted net income. The company, run by chief executive and founder Mark Dixon, said revenues rose to £387m compared to £334.5m in the same [...]
GOOD GOING May 19, 2009 RACECOURSE operator Arena Leisure yesterday said its performance to 18 May has been “creditable”, despite the ongoing recession and a recent spell of poor weather. It said average attendance at its events in the first quarter was five per cent up on the same period in 2008.
Condoms sales boost SSL May 19, 2009 Strong sales of condoms and foot care products saw SSL International achieve full year operating profit that beat expectations and allowed the company to issue new earnings growth targets, sending its shares up 5.3 per cent yesterday. The maker of Durex condoms and Scholl footcare products reported operating profit up by 31.4 per cent to [...]
DSGI offloads Hungarian stores May 19, 2009 DSG International, the owner of the Currys and PC World chains, has cut its losses and agreed to sell its nine Electro World stores in Hungary to EW Electro Retail for the nominal sum of €1 (65p). The deal comes as part of a push by DSGI to rid itself of costly or underperforming overseas investments, [...]
Blinkx has cautious outlook May 19, 2009 Online video search engine Blinkx yesterday posted a narrower than expected full year loss, helped by a growing number of users – but concerns over the outlook and the company’s cash position hit its shares, sending them down 13 per cent. The company said it was maintaining a “cautious and conservative stance” due to current [...]