Dividend payouts from British companies enjoy record quarter (but growth is slowing) July 22, 2013 Dividend payouts by British firms hit its largest ever quarterly total of £25.3bn in the second quarter of 2013, with media, financial services and food producers all reporting double digit dividend growth. But Capita Registrars, who conducted the research, says growth is slowing, revising down its expected underlying dividend growth to 7.7 per cent from [...]
Mothercare shares see boost from Royal Baby fever July 22, 2013 Toddler chain Mothercare has seen its share rise this morning to as much as 474.25p (from a previous close of 466.5p) as news of the Duchess of Cambridge entering labour has broken. The company, which has produced a line of prince and princess themed products, is expected to benefit from a boom in baby interest. [...]
UK has joint seventh highest national debt-GDP ratio in EU (with Spain) July 22, 2013 Government debt in eurozone countries rose to 92.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2013 – up from 88.2 per cent in the previous year (release). At the end of the quarter, securities other than shares made up 77.1 per cent of euro area general government debt, while loans [...]
Philips chief executive expresses concern over global economy even as cost cutting pays off July 22, 2013 Dutch healthcare, lighting and consumer appliances group Philips has reported a tripling of second quarter net profits compared to a year ago thanks go cost saving and a jump in sales (release). Net profits were up to €317m compared to the €102m in the same period the year before, with revenues up two per cent [...]
Duchess of Cambridge in hospital after going into labour July 22, 2013 THE DUCHESS of Cambridge has been taken to hospital in the early stages of labour, Kensington Palace announced today. The Duchess – formerly Kate Middleton – travelled by car to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington this morning with her husband the Duke of Cambridge. She reportedly arrived at the hospital at around 6am, with an [...]
Bumi resumes trading July 22, 2013 TROUBLED miner Bumi has announced that it will resume trading today, after almost three months since the firm’s shares were suspended due to irregularities on its balance sheet. The company, which is currently undergoing a separation after a long-running feud between its co-founders Nat Rothschild and the Bakrie family, had to re-list this week or [...]
UBS expects to report forecast-beating second quarter profits July 22, 2013 Swiss bank UBS estimates its net profit in the second quarter of 2013 was up 62 per cent to CHF690m (£480m) – above analyst expectations of a 31 per cent rise to CHF558m. Its pre-tax operating profit is estimated to be CHF1.02bn (release). UBS’s wealth management unit – the focus of recent efforts to streamline [...]
Japan stocks muted after Abe win July 22, 2013 JAPAN’S stock market barely moved after yesterday’s elections, which gave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe control of both houses of parliament for the first time since 2007. The election outcome shows a vote of confidence in ‘Abenomics’, the prime minister’s aggressive stimulus policies aiming to end deflation in Japan and boost growth. The Nikkei rose 1.2 [...]
UK regulator to boost audit market competition July 22, 2013 BRITAIN’S top companies will have to put their accounting business out to tender every five years to encourage competition between audit firms, the Competition Commission proposed today. The regulator outlined its plans to break the stranglehold of the ‘big four’ accounting firms: Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young, ahead of its final report this [...]
Gold prices jump on the back of a weak dollar July 22, 2013 Gold prices jumped two per cent to a high of $1,319.70/t oz last night as the dollar fell against key currencies. This comes as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the ending of quantitative easing did not have a set timetable. This kind of monetary stimulus is often thought of as a support for gold. [...]