Cineworld breaks out the popcorn as box office hits send profits soaring August 15, 2013 Cineworld has reported a 24 per cent growth in pre-tax profits and a 22 per cent jump in group revenues in the first half of the year (release). Pre-tax profits rose to £16.5m from £13.3m in the same period the year before, while group revenues rose to £201.6m from £165.4m. Basic earnings per share rose [...]
Before the open – 15/08 August 15, 2013 The Nikkei dropped sharply last night after finance minister Taro Aso denied prime minister Shinzo Abe was not considering a corporate tax cut – as the Nikkei newspaper had previously reported on Tuesday. Many have said such a tax cut would be a huge shot in the arm for Japan, which is languishing under huge [...]
Imperial Tobacco warns of weakness in EU and Eastern Europe August 15, 2013 Imperial Tobacco has reported it is on track to deliver full-year performance in line with expectations after making good progress to reform its strategy in the nine months ending 30 June 2013 (release). Since its half yearly report, Imperial Tobacco said it had realigned its “geographic footprint” based on the markets set to generate returns [...]
UK markets defy Carney August 14, 2013 MARK Carney, the Bank of England’s new governor, is increasingly failing to convince markets that he will keep rates on hold for three years. His new forward guidance and pledge that base rates would remain low for three years, a revolutionary shift announced last week, was meant to push down market rates to lower [...]
Fraud charges filed against boss of London Whale after $6bn loss August 14, 2013 THE LONDON based traders who lost JP Morgan more than $6bn (£3.9bn) were charged with wire fraud and conspiring to falsify accounts by the US authorities yesterday. Trader Bruno Iksil, nicknamed the London Whale, is not facing charges as he entered a plea agreement and gave prosecutors information on the trading losses. His supervisor Javier [...]
Eurozone starts to recover after 18 months of decline August 14, 2013 THE EURO area has finally emerged from recession after six consecutive quarters of painful economic decline, statistics from Brussels revealed yesterday. Initial estimates showed the single currency bloc’s GDP expanding by 0.3 per cent in the three months to the end of June. The data marks the first turnaround in the Eurozone’s fortunes since it embarked [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 15 August 2013 August 14, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Court stops €3.2bn German cable deal The €3.2bn purchase of Kabel Baden-Württemberg by Liberty Global has been blocked by a German court, casting doubt on the latest attempts to consolidate the country’s cable industry. Liberty agreed to buy Germany’s third-largest cable operator for €3.2bn in March 2011. John Deere boosted by farming John [...]
6,000 UK bank branches could close by 2020 August 14, 2013 HALF of Europe’s bank branches could become unviable or unnecessary by 2020, according to a study out yesterday from commercial real estate group Jones Lang LaSalle. The shift towards online and mobile banking combined with a further spread of debit and credit cards is expected to reduce the value of branches to banks. On top [...]
Egypt in crisis as hundreds massacred August 14, 2013 THE EGYPTIAN army yesterday killed hundreds of supporters of the deposed President Mohammed Morsi in an attempt to destroy protest camps calling for his return. Thousands more were severely injured in the clashes, while the pro-Morsi Muslim Brotherhood movement claimed the real number of lives lost is much higher. Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi, installed following [...]
Steady jobless rate as market watches closely August 14, 2013 UNEMPLOYMENT fell by 4,000 in the second quarter this year, with the rate stable at 7.8 per cent, despite the Bank of England projecting a rise. However, the single-month estimate of unemployment in June was only 7.4 per cent, with the quarterly figure inflated by higher joblessness in April and May. Despite [...]