International boosts Speedy Hire February 13, 2013 Equipment rental hire firm Speedy Hire said yesterday trading was on track for the full year after its international business grew revenues 37 per cent year-on-year for the third quarter. In the UK, revenues were up two per cent year-on-year for the same period from 1 October last year to 12 February. “Importantly both margins [...]
Best of the Brokers February 13, 2013 PETROFAC UBS yesterday upgraded oilfield services group Petrofac from “neutral” to “buy”, with the target price increased from 1,575p to 1,875p. “We think Petrofac has a solid business model within the onshore engineering & construction end market,” the note said. UBS recommends “deploying cash organically” within other parts of the business in order to avoid [...]
What 2013’s top gadgets might look like (we really, really hope) February 13, 2013 iPad 5 The last generation iPad was a small improvement on the iPad 3. Expect the next one to be lighter and thinner, and some analysts think it could shave 17mm from the width and 4mm from the height. It is also likely to feature a far smaller bevel, more akin to the iPad Mini. [...]
Firms going ex-dividend hit FTSE 100 February 13, 2013 The leading share index fell this morning, ending a three-session rally as it was weighed down by a number of blue chips going ex-dividend. Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca led the fallers, shedding more than three per cent as it went ex-dividend. Business software provider Sage and oil giant BP fell 1.63 per cent and 1.44 per [...]
CBI says UK will avoid triple-dip recession February 13, 2013 The UK will avoid a triple-dip recession in 2013, according to business lobby group the CBI, although growth will be lower. The business lobby said this morning that the economy would expand by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, and stay between 0.3 and 0.4 per cent for the rest of [...]
Health and hygiene arm boosts Reckitt Benckiser February 13, 2013 Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser beat expectations over the full year, as sales of health and hygiene products led growth. The FTSE 100 consumer giant posted net revenue of £9.6bn over 2012, and full-year adjusted earnings per share of 264.4p, up seven per cent. Chief executive Rakesh Kapoor has shifted focus to fast-growing emerging markets [...]
Crest Nicholson float values firm at £553m February 13, 2013 Crest Nicholson this morning set a price of 220p a share for its London IPO, valuing the company at £553m. The property group said today it expected to raise gross proceeds of around £224.9m, comprising a primary component of £56m and secondary sales of £168.9m from existing shareholders. The shares will start trading on the [...]
G7 fails to halt currency wars February 12, 2013 INTERNATIONAL leaders yesterday failed in their attempt to reassure investors that a currency war would not be allowed to escalate, after a joint-statement failed to convince analysts and prompted sharp fluctuations in the foreign exchange markets. Finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading nations, known as the G7, sought to reaffirm their “commitment to [...]
“We’ve never been stronger” – Tim Cook says Apple is at top of its game February 12, 2013 APPLE chief executive Tim Cook sounded a bullish note at a Goldman Sachs event yesterday, reassuring investors that “limit” was not a word in his vocabulary, and that the firm remained a “centre of innovation”. Speaking ahead of the bank’s annual technology and internet conference, Cook acknowledged the lawsuit brought against the firm by David Einhorn’s [...]
Comcast to buy stake in NBCUniversal February 12, 2013 US CABLE provider Comcast is to buy out General Electric’s (GE) entire 49 per cent stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7bn (£10.7bn), taking full control of the company behind CNBC and Universal Studios. The deal, which was announced late last night, comes more than a year ahead of the original date that was agreed when GE [...]