AstraZeneca hit by high costs as patents expire August 1, 2013 DRUG manufacturer AstraZeneca yesterday warned of higher costs in 2013 as it continues to invest despite a slump in sales caused by a wave of patent expiries on key medicines. The prediction that operating costs will now increase by a low-to-mid single digit percentage rate this year amounts to an effective cut in earnings guidance, [...]
Brit calls on Lloyd’s of London to do more for speciality insurers August 1, 2013 BRIT Insurance, the sponsor of the England and Wales cricket team, yesterday said the new Lloyd’s of London boss must make the market into “a more efficient machine”. Brit chief executive Mark Cloutier told City A.M. that Lloyd’s must make a renewed effort to “help deal with the cost of underwriting” in the historic market. [...]
New CEO for Rentokil as Brown steps down August 1, 2013 RENTOKIL Initial’s chief executive Alan Brown (right) has decided to quit the support services firm after five turbulent years at the helm, during which he sold struggling postal chain City Link for just £1. He will be succeeded by regional MD Andy Ransom on 1 October.
Countrywide awaits second housing boost August 1, 2013 COUNTRYWIDE is anticipating another boost from the government’s Help to Buy scheme when the second phase comes into force next year, the UK’s largest estate agency said yesterday, as it posted a jump in half-year profits. Countrywide’s core business is in second hand home sales, which is not covered by the first part of Help [...]
Jupiter’s Bonham Carter says Fed uncertainty stalks markets August 1, 2013 JUPITER Fund Management boss Edward Bonham Carter yesterday said equity markets would continue to wobble as investors prepared for a pullback in American quantitative easing (QE). The FTSE 250 listed stock picker, which attracted £426m more from investors in the three months to June, said signals from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke about reducing [...]
Investec profits hit by Rand fall August 1, 2013 SOUTH African bank and asset manager Investec has seen its rise in profit wiped out by the dramatic depreciation of the rand. In the three months to the end of June, Investec said total operating income rose four per cent, but costs rose by the same amount wiping out any increase. The rand slumped by [...]
Hedgies amass £1 trillion debt August 1, 2013 TOP HEDGE funds around the world have debts of more than $1 trillion (£660m) on their balance sheets, secret data from US regulators show. The findings were released by the US Securities Exchange Commission. The watchdog collects the confidential data under new rules as part of the Dodd-Frank Act. The debts are mainly made up [...]
ArcelorMittal cuts its forecast August 1, 2013 ARCELORMITTAL, the world’s largest steelmaker, cut its 2013 core profit guidance yesterday on weaker than forecast demand in Europe and the United States and lower raw material prices. The firm, which makes six to seven per cent of the world’s steel, said it now expected the European market would shrink by between 1.5 and 2.5 [...]
Portmeirion’s royal sales lift August 1, 2013 PORTMEIRION said it expects the birth of baby Cambridge to provide a strong fillip to sales as it posted a 4.4 per cent rise in revenues to £23.8m for the first six months of the year. Chief executive Lawrence Bryan said yesterday customers had already snapped up £500,000 of bone china mugs and plates with [...]
Smith & Nephew revenues in line August 1, 2013 ARTIFICIAL knee and hip maker Smith & Nephew reported trading profit of $232m (£152.5m) yesterday, up one per cent on an underlying basis, as strength in its advanced wound management unit offset a weak performance in orthopaedic reconstruction. “As expected orthopaedic reconstruction had a slow quarter and we anticipate a better second half,” the company [...]