UBS set for £2.7bn more credit crunch write-offs August 11, 2008 UBS IS expected to write off €3.5bn (£2.7bn) in assets damaged by the credit crunch tomorrow, as the interim banking results season limps to a close. The Swiss banking giant, which had significant exposure to US subprime mortgages, has endured a year of gloom, posting writedowns of $37bn since the beginning of the credit crunch [...]
Virgin loses punters but profits up August 8, 2008 Cable firm Virgin Media yesterday reported higher than expected underlying second-quarter profit, despite losing nearly 20,000 customers. Underlying profit rose by 6 per cent to £333m due to cost cutting measures, the Nasdaq-listed firm said, beating market expectations of £321m. But Virgin, which boasts Britain’s fastest broadband speeds, said it had lost around 19,500 customers, [...]
Profit fall at Friends August 8, 2008 Shares in Friends Provident tumbled almost five per cent yesterday as the troubled life assurer disappointed investors by posting a 20 per cent fall in profit while failing to complete the sale of its non-core units. Friends Provident, which has been overhauling its business since the start of the year, said it had not yet [...]
Nomura in bid talks with Collins Stewart August 8, 2008 Cash-rich Japanese bank Nomura is believed to be in talks with small cap stockbroker Collins Stewart, while Australian bank Macquarie and Israeli multi-national Delek Capital, a subsidiary of Israeli conglomerate Delek, are also understood to have shown an interest in acquiring the broker. Collins Stewart said on Wednesday that it had received a preliminary approach, [...]
Passengers desert BA for cheap rivals August 7, 2008 British Airways carried 94,000 fewer passengers in July than in the same month last year. The airline blamed high oil prices, subsequent ticket price increases, and the worsening economic environment. The drop, during what is traditionally peak-season, came from non-premium ticket sales. Passenger load factor – the measurement of how full flights are – dropped [...]
Investor backs Michael Page directors August 7, 2008 Michael Page, the recruitment firm that received an approach this week from Swiss rival Adecco, is worth “significantly” more than its current share price, its biggest shareholder said yesterday. Standard Life investment director of UK equities Lesley Duncan said: “We are fully supportive of Michael Page’s management. The strategy they have been pursuing will, we [...]
Freddie Mac posts fourth loss in a row August 7, 2008 Freddie Mac, the US mortgage giant whose near-collapse led US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to introduce emergency rescue measures for banks, announced losses of $821m (£421m) in the second quarter yesterday. It was the company’s fourth successive loss, as increasing numbers of homeowners failed to make loan repayments in the worst US housing slump since [...]
Profits surge at Murdoch’s News Corp August 7, 2008 Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp yesterday reported a 27 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit, but warned investors that it faces tough times ahead. The media giant said that its film studios, national American newspapers and Fox News channel had done well, helping it to report profits of £1.13bn (£565m). Fox Interactive Media, the division in [...]
ITV revenues fall further as dividend cut August 7, 2008 ITV, the largest commercial broadcaster in the UK, has halved its interim dividend, lowered online and production growth targets and will strip out another £35m a year in costs after sinking £1.5bn into the red in the first six months of 2008. Shares in the company fell as much as 10 per cent following revelations [...]
Taxpayers to fund further Rock bail out August 6, 2008 The taxpayers is to provide Northern Rock with £3bn in financial support after falling house prices and problem loans pushed the struggling state owned lender into a £585.4m loss for the six months to June. Northern Rock executive chairman Ron Sandler yesterday announced that the bank would enter into a debt for equity swap with [...]
