Don’t be spooked by inflation: there are ways to protect your portfolio August 15, 2008 Clever investors can protect themselves from the worst effects of rising prices, says Esther Shaw Figures out last week showed that inflation in the UK, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 4.4 per cent in July, more than double the Government’s 2 per cent target. On other measures, the figure is [...]
Suite returns: why it’s a good time to check yourself into the hotel industry August 14, 2008 Hotel rooms are one area of property investing that are bucking the credit crunch, writes Timothy Barber If we’re thinking positive, the slowing economy presents an opportunity to get a bit creative with investments. The alternative asset market has become more and more prominent in 2008 as investors look for areas offering stable returns in [...]
ING profits hit as asset fears build August 14, 2008 ING, the Dutch bank and insurer, reported a slide in second-quarter earnings of 25 per cent yesterday, as it yielded smaller returns on its investments. Net profit fell to €1.9bn (£1.5bn) from €2.56bn a year earlier, beating market expectations but signalling a downturn in the fortunes of its investments. CEO Michel Tilman said: “We are, [...]
Growth slows for hotelier as guests skimp August 13, 2008 The world’s largest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), has reported first-half operating profits of $291m (£153m), an increase of 29 per cent – despite slow second quarter growth from its US operations. Reporting in US dollars for the first time, IHG announced an increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) of four per cent, though [...]
Listings fall trims profits at UK broker August 13, 2008 Collins Stewart, the British broker that is currently the subject of takeover discussions, reported an 82 per cent slump in first-half profits yesterday, which it blamed on poor performance from its capital markets unit. Pre-tax profit nosedived from £52m to £9.6m and the interim dividend was slashed from 2.5p to 1.2p, as chairman Terry Smith [...]
Woolworths chooses DIY chief as boss August 13, 2008 Woolworths, the troubled British retailer, has appointed former head of Focus DIY Steve Johnson as its new chief executive, in an attempt to revive its fortunes. Johnson, 44, takes over from Trevor Bish-Jones, who was ousted in June, and will earn a basic salary of £550,000 a year, as well as a cash bonus of [...]
Grainger cuts costs to ride out the gloom August 13, 2008 Residential property company Grainger said yesterday it had sold £122m of assets and is slashing costs as it hunkers down to ride out the credit crunch. Shares in the listed company, which owns and manages more than 20,000 properties in Britain and Germany, edged up nine per cent as the firm outlined measures to cut [...]
Encouraging the young is key to creating entrepreneurs August 12, 2008 What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. This can actually be a good thing. A person becomes able to take on more difficult challenges if they are trained with smaller ones steadily. In fact, if you learn how to take risks early in life, you learn to stretch yourself appropriately and succeed in handling bigger [...]
Interactive Prospect dives after firm warns investors August 12, 2008 Online marketing group Interactive Prospect Targeting Holdings’ shares plunged by 27 per cent yesterday after it said its British operation was performing “significantly below management’s expectations”. The Aim-listed firm, which specialises in direct marketing via email, said that it was considering the sale of some of its divisions following its below par performance. It also [...]
Kazakhmys gets blocking stake in ENRC August 12, 2008 Kazakhmys, the Kazakh copper producer, has upped its stake in Kazakh rival Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) to 25.02 per cent, effectively preventing its biggest rival from making a hostile bid for it. The purchase of 35.7m shares, at an average of 1,126p each for a total £402m, will give Kazakhmys the power to veto [...]
