Profits stay flat as volumes dip at coke bottler November 6, 2014 COKE bottler Coca-Cola HBC reported flat profits in the third quarter of 2014, at €148.2m (£115.9m), compared with €148.1m in the same period last year. Sales revenue dropped by more than five per cent, from €1.9bn to €1.8bn, with volumes down by 4.8 per cent, from 575m unit cases to 548m. The company, which is [...]
Fidessa sees market conditions improving but warns on sterling November 6, 2014 TRADING technology firm Fidessa Group yesterday reported improving conditions across its markets due to “reduced headwind” from fewer consolidations, restructurings and closures in its customer base and an improving deal pipeline. “In particular, increased interest has been seen in new functionality within the core markets, as well as strong demand for the derivatives and service-based [...]
Confident shoppers get more credit cards before Christmas November 6, 2014 Britain’s upbeat shoppers are taking out more credit cards, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), indicating they feel increasingly financially secure. The total number of cards in use has risen to 59.7m, the highest level for four years. Shoppers had cut down credit card use in recent years, as part of their own response to [...]
Rightmove stays bullish despite cooling down of housing market November 6, 2014 Property website Rightmove yesterday said it had a confident outlook for the full year, as more agents and developers used its service to advertise despite signs of a cooling housing market. In a trading update for the four months to 31 October, Rightmove said its membership had grown two per cent since the first half [...]
Job creation up but skills are in short supply November 6, 2014 JOB CREATION remained strong last month, but a skills shortage could be looming on the horizon. A report released today by consultancy giant KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec) showed that permanent staff placements rose for the 25th consecutive month in October. Meanwhile, another KPMG report warned that a huge skills shortage in the [...]
Landlords’ property wealth on track to climb to £1 trillion in 2015 November 6, 2014 Private landlords’ property is worth £930bn – and is set to reach £1 trillion next year on the sustained rise in UK house prices, according to estimates by Kent Reliance. London has seen the biggest rises in wealth over the past seven years. From 2007 to 2014, landlords in the capital saw the value of their [...]
Coors light makers hit by weaker demand November 6, 2014 MOLSON Coors Brewing reported a loss of $34.4m (£21.7m) for the third quarter of 2014, compared with a profit of $134.3m last year. The company, whose brands include Coors Light and Cobra Beer, was impacted by higher spending on marketing and “weak consumer demand” in the US, Europe and Canada – worldwide beer volumes fell [...]
City Moves for 07 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 6, 2014 Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking Oliver Knight has been appointed head of the bank’s group and public sector team and head of regulatory response. He joins from Accenture, where his experience included four years working in its financial services strategy practice. Deutsche Bank Elizabeth Nolan has been appointed head of custody and clearing at the bank. [...]
Best of the Brokers for 07 November 2014 November 6, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ITV Westhouse Securities reiterated its “add” rating, and said it was positive on ITV’s “fundamental attractions”, which include the breadth of its content portfolio, the quality of its management team and its “unrivalled ability to deliver a large mass-market TV audience to advertisers”. [...]
FTSE edges higher despite declines in insurers’ shares – London Report November 6, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index ended slightly higher yesterday, with RSA leading insurers lower on weak premiums and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline slipping after trading without the attraction of its latest dividend. The FTSE 100 ended 0.18 per cent higher at 6,551.15 points, after rising to as much as 6,580.21 earlier. RSA slipped five per cent to 460.10p, [...]