Toyota on course to keep its title as the world’s biggest car maker October 28, 2013 TOYOTA kept its lead over rivals General Motors and Volkswagen this year, January-September global sales figures showed, as the Japanese carmaker closes in on a record annual profit. Toyota’s groupwide sales totalled around 7.412m vehicles, up 0.1 per cent from the same period a year ago, the company said yesterday, as strong sales in the [...]
Pendragon lifts forecasts as its sales rise again October 28, 2013 CAR DEALERSHIP Pendragon raised its profit forecast for 2013 yesterday and said it was “cautiously optimistic” about next year. The firm, which trades as Stratstone, Evans Halshaw and Quicks, reckons profits will be materially ahead of expectations as sales of new and used cars continued to rise over the last three months. New car sales [...]
Ferrovial hails rising toll road traffic and more building work October 28, 2013 FERROVIAL, the Spanish infrastructure giant that owns a 25 per cent stake in Heathrow Airport, yesterday posted a 4.9 per cent rise in revenues to €5.9bn (£5.03bn) for the first nine months of the year. The firm posted earnings of €632m, down from €658m a year ago, as a rise in international contracts was offset [...]
Japan’s Mizuho in the clear over loans to yakuza October 28, 2013 MIZUHO Financial Group did not intentionally cover up loans to yakuza mobsters, an outside panel said yesterday, a verdict that increases the likelihood Japan’s second-biggest bank by assets will escape serious penalty over the scandal. Mizuho said its president and CEO, Yasuhiro Sato, would keep his job but have his pay suspended for six months. [...]
Europe recovery for TNT Express October 28, 2013 DUTCH delivery group TNT Express said yesterday it sees signs of improvement in its main European markets, although overall the recovery was fragile. Chief financial officer Bernard Bot said Britain, Germany and Benelux had shown the strongest signs of recovery, while Italy and Spain still faced challenges. “It’s a mixed picture with some positive signs [...]
Numericable’s €5bn valuation October 28, 2013 FRENCH cable operator Numericable plans to sell its shares for between €20.30 and €24.80 per share in a public offer next week, valuing the private equity-owned company at up to €5.57bn (£3.45bn) including debt. The offer is seen by executives and investors as a first step towards a shake-up of France’s telecoms sector, which has [...]
City Moves for 29 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 28, 2013 Threadneedle Investments The investment management firm has announced the appointment of Richard Vincent as head of wholesale solutions. He was most recently at Skandia Investment Group/Old Mutual Wealth, where he was proposition director. Irwin Mitchell Nigel Kissack has joined the law firm as national head of commercial litigation. Kissack specialises in resolving disputes for private and [...]
Best of the Brokers for 29 October 2013 October 28, 2013 SAGE GROUP Jefferies has upgraded the business software specialist to buy from hold and upped its target price to 380p from 320p. The broker believes the company is undervalued and that the market is focusing too much on the lack of momentum regarding the cloud. WHITBREAD Bank of America Merrill Lynch has raised its target [...]
London Report: FTSE stalls at a five-month high as big storm hits October 28, 2013 BRITAIN’S blue chip share index steadied yesterday after hitting a five-month high, stalling just above the key 6,700 points level as a mixed crop of earnings led to profit taking and bad weather curbed activity. Airlines were among those hit by profit taking, as the St Jude storm in Britain disrupted flights. Easyjet dropped 2.3 [...]
New York Report: S&P 500 closes at record figure on US Fed talks October 28, 2013 THE S&P 500 closed at another record high yesterday as expectations were lifted that the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus in place when it meets this week. But the overall market was little changed, with the Dow and Nasdaq ending down slightly, after the recent sharp run-up in the stock market lost some momentum. [...]