Cable names Emerson chair of state lender October 17, 2013 VINCE Cable yesterday named the first chairman of the government’s new British Business Bank, a body designed to support lending to small and medium-sized firms, as banker-turned-academic Ron Emerson. The appointment marks the biggest step to date in setting up one of the business secretary’s flagship policies: a state-backed bank to boost lending for firms that [...]
Norwegian to offer low-price flights to the US October 17, 2013 NORWEGIAN has become the latest airline to attempt a low-cost service to America, in a coup for Gatwick Airport. The airline will sell flights to New York next summer for just £149 one-way – an offer made possible by the advent of more efficient planes like the new Dreamliner, chief executive Bjorn Kjos said yesterday. [...]
American Airlines stock takes off as cost cuts drive record revenue October 17, 2013 AMERICAN Airlines parent AMR reported higher-than-expected earnings yesterday as it cut costs and revenue reached a record for any quarter. The US carrier, which is looking to emerge from bankruptcy by merging with US Airways Group, has renegotiated plane leases, cut management and frozen pension plans to lower costs since filing for bankruptcy in November [...]
Watchdog warns some firms lack expertise to write clear accounts October 17, 2013 THE FINANCIAL Reporting Council is worried that smaller listed firms do not have the resources to produce useful corporate reports. The watchdog also said yesterday that only a few boards at big companies have cut out unnecessary clutter from their filings, making it difficult for investors to get a clear picture of the firm’s performance. [...]
Snookering the housing market October 17, 2013 DESPITE widespread scepticism around George Osborne’s Help to Buy scheme, the chancellor could be forgiven for not expecting his most recent critic’s comments. In a break from training for his upcoming Chinese tournament, five-time and current snooker world champion Ronnie O’Sulllivan took to Twitter, voicing a strong criticism of the UK’s housing market. “The new [...]
Catch him if you can: art of the steal taught at bank conference October 17, 2013 ANYONE lucky enough to find themselves in Miami next month, with the requisite $2,310 (£1,430) will be able to meet a famous reformed con-man at the Private Banking Latin America conference. Frank Abignale, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2002’s Catch Me If You Can, now spends time advising financial institutions. However, the event, which is [...]
Diageo hurt by weak emerging markets growth October 17, 2013 DIAGEO posted a lower than expected rise in first quarter sales yesterday as strong growth in the US was dampened by a slowdown in emerging markets such as Africa and Russia. The world’s largest drinks company, which owns brands including Guinness and Smirnoff, said organic sales rose by three per cent in the three months [...]
Analyst Views: Has Diageo’s trading update altered your outlook for the group? October 17, 2013 MARTIN DEBOO INVESTEC “We read the first quarter as a miss… emerging market growth is decelerating – fast – driven by a mix of weak demand and destocking. We re-state our sell case, believing that the valuation needs to adjust to reflect growing pressures in the emerging markets, which are heading for 50 per cent [...]
SABMiller investors cheered as sales grow in China and Africa October 17, 2013 SABMILLER gave investors a reason to celebrate yesterday after revealing an improvement in European sales as well as strong growth in Africa and China during the six months to the end of September. Net producer revenues, which exclude tax costs, grew by five per cent in Latin America, 11 per cent in Africa and seven [...]
Surprise inflow ends for Man after two years October 17, 2013 MAN GROUP, the world’s biggest listed hedge fund, stopped the rot yesterday after luring a surplus of cash from customers for the first time in two years. The swing back to inflows, which totalled $700m (£433m) for the three months ending September, marks a significant milestone for chief executive Manny Roman, who took over in [...]