Who do you trust more: Boris Johnson or Ken Livingstone? April 24, 2012 AS the race to become London mayor fast approaches its conclusion, we’re asking our Voice of the City panel, run in association with PoliticsHome.com, which candidate they trust more to lead the capital and fulfill their manifesto promises. Answer this week’s questions on key aspects of the policies laid out by Boris Johnson and Ken [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 24, 2012 DC Advisory Partners The corporate finance advisory firm has announced the appointment of Terry Huffine as executive director in its European consumer, leisure and retail team. Huffine joins after eight years with ABN AMRO and, following its acquisition, at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he was a director on the consumer team. He also [...]
BEST of the BROKERS April 24, 2012 MAN GROUP UBS has reiterated its “buy” rating on the alternative investment manager and reduced its target price from 165p to 140p, identifying Man as a potential takeover target ahead of its trading update next week. The broker said that a 50 per cent premium to the current price would be enough to get approval. [...]
AT&T profit rises thanks to improved margins April 24, 2012 American mobile phone network AT&T reported a higher quarterly profit for the start of 2012, driven by a rise in wireless margins, as it had to pay less in subsidies to Apple because it sold fewer iPhones in the quarter. AT&T’s shares rose almost 2 per cent after the news. US networks were weighed down [...]
FTSE in modest rise as investors eye Fed April 24, 2012 The FTSE 100 saw a modest rally this morning led by banking and commodity stocks as investors looked for signs that the Federal Reserve will inject more liquidity into markets. London’s blue chip index was dented yesterday by uncertainty over who will be the next president of France, the collapse of the Dutch government and [...]
Public borrowing hits 2011/12 target April 24, 2012 The public sector budget deficit was higher than expected in March, but downward revisions in previous months enabled the government to meet its full-year target, the Office for National Statistics said. The Office for National Statistics said public sector net borrowing excluding financial sector interventions – the government’s preferred measure – rose last month to [...]
AB Foods buoyed by Primark April 24, 2012 Associated British Foods forecast a “substantial” rise in full-year earnings as under-pressure British shoppers turned to its Primark discount fashion stores and it benefited from high sugar prices in the first half of its financial year. The London-based food and retailing group said earnings per share rose five per cent to 34.4 pence in the [...]
Arm receives first quarter lift from licences April 24, 2012 ARM, the British company whose technology powers Apple’s iPad, met market expectations with a 22 per cent rise in first-quarter profit, helped by growth in chip-makers licensing its energy efficient designs. The company reported adjusted pretax profit of £61.9m on revenue 14 per cent higher at 132.5 million pounds, both in line with forecasts. Cambridge-based [...]
Shell to buy Cove energy for $1.8bn April 24, 2012 Royal Dutch Sheld said it agreed to buy oil explorer Cove Energy in a $1.8bn (£1.12bn) cash deal, after the major raised its previous offer to match a rival bid from Thailand’s PTT. Shell said it would pay 220 pence for each Cove share and that the deal was conditional upon approval from the government [...]
Facebook reveals income slip ahead of IPO April 24, 2012 Facebook Inc reported its first quarter-to-quarter revenue slide in at least two years, a sign that the social network’s sizzling growth may be cooling as it prepares to go public in the biggest ever Internet IPO. The company blamed the first-quarter decline, which surprised some on Wall Street, on seasonal advertising trends. Spending roughly doubled [...]