Yell to confirm progress on reduction of debt pile July 21, 2009 DIRECTORIES publisher Yell Group will tomorrow say it has cut its debt-pile by nearly 11 per cent, to £3.8bn, since its 2008 year-end report and that refinancing conversations with its key lenders are continuing. Earlier this month, the owner of Yellow Pages said it had entered talks regarding a debt restructuring – just eight months [...]
Speedy Hire sees light on horizon July 21, 2009 Tool hire group Speedy Hire said yesterday it had seen signs that difficult trading conditions were starting to ease, though it remains cautious about the short-term outlook. Speedy, which recently completed a £100m rights issue to shore up its balance sheet, said revenue for the first quarter of the financial year was down 30 per [...]
Hornby wins 2012 licence July 21, 2009 Toy maker Hornby said yesterday that it has won a licence to make a range of toys and collectables for the London 2012 Olympic Games across its Corgi, Hornby, Scalextric and Airfix brands. The company said the 2012 products would include model London taxis and London buses, die-cast figurines, model trains, Airfix models of the [...]
Luxury spending boosts Hermes July 21, 2009 French luxury goods group Hermes saw a better-than-expected improvement in trading in the second quarter, helped by consumers’ crisis-proof appetite for its elegant handbags and stronger perfumes sales. Hermes said yesterday that it still expects full-year sales to remain flat and operating profit to fall slightly, which investors interpreted as too conservative but in line [...]
Deutsche Bank spying scandal claims first scalps as shadow hangs over bank July 21, 2009 DEUTSCHE Bank has sacked two senior managers, according to sources, as it faces a possible probe by state prosecutors into a surveillance affair at Germany’s biggest bank. The bank yesterday said it was waiting for the outcome of its own investigation and declined to comment further on the surveillance of a non-executive director or the [...]
Man Group invests $50m with former Brevan team July 21, 2009 A PORTFOLIO run by Man Group, the world’s biggest listed hedge fund firm, has invested $50m (£30m) in a new start-up fund run by three former Brevan Howard traders. Man’s RMF Global Emerging Managers strategy has put money with 5:15 Capital Management, a US-based fixed income arbitrage firm set up this month and named after [...]
Bernanke cautious on recovery July 21, 2009 THE Federal Reserve is in no hurry to tighten monetary policy because the US economy is still too fragile, Ben Bernanke said yesterday. Delivering his twice-yearly testimonial to the US Congress, the Fed chairman said unemployment was set to remain high until 2011 so it was not the right time for “exit strategies” such as [...]
COMEBACK KID July 21, 2009 SHARES in WM Morrison made spectacular gains yesterday after the supermarket said it would beat profit forecasts. The announcement, which coincided with research showing that it is grabbing market share from rivals, confirmed Morrisons’ new status as the City’s favourite retail stock. Morrisons grew by 9.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to 12 July [...]
Apple iPhone boosts profit July 21, 2009 APPLE’S profits jumped by 15 per cent in its third quarter, the firm said yesterday, thanks to sales of its iPhone, which topped five million in the period. The firm, which recently welcomed chief executive Steve Jobs back to work following liver transplant surgery, said profits rose to $1.23bn (£747m), or $1.35 a share, in [...]
Brown must follow Bernanke’s advice July 21, 2009 MUCH of what Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, had to say last night could easily be transposed to the UK. He made several main points in his testimony to Congress, most of which are relevant to Britain. The rate of decline in the US economy has slowed significantly, demand and production are beginning to [...]