Schroders weathers volatile 2011 March 8, 2012 Blue chip investment manager Schroders (SDR.L) said an injection of institutional money kept its net inflows for 2011 positive against a backdrop of wobbly markets that sent many retail clients headed for the exits. In full year earnings for 2011, Schroders said total net inflows were £3.2bn with a £6.8bn net gain in institutional money [...]
Cineworld profit lifted by blockbusters March 8, 2012 British cinema chain Cineworld posted a higher full-year profit helped by a string of popular releases during the Christmas season, and said it expected a strong blockbuster line-up for 2012. The operator of cinema complexes throughout the UK and Ireland said films such as the latest in the Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and [...]
Aviva earnings pick up after Eurozone blow March 8, 2012 Aviva reported a bigger-than-expected six per cent rise in its 2011 earnings, helped by better profit margins in its life insurance business, and said capital reserves had recovered from a hit they took last year as a result of the Eurozone debt crisis. The company, Britain’s second-biggest insurer, had an operating profit for the year [...]
Morrisons profit up – but predicts tough 2012 March 8, 2012 Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer Wm Morrison said the UK grocery market was likely to remain subdued in the coming year despite easing inflationary pressures as it posted a eight per cent rise in year profit. “We expect a challenging year in 2012,” the firm said on Thursday, adding that it still expected to deliver profitable growth. [...]
Apple: New iPad will crush PCs March 7, 2012 APPLE launched its latest bid to extend its dominance of the tablet computer market last night as it revealed a next-generation iPad – and delivered a rallying cry that the days of personal computers are over. “We think the iPad is the poster child of the post–PC world,” chief executive Tim Cook told the tech [...]
Greece set to impose writedown March 7, 2012 MOST private sector bond holders are expected to agree to swap their assets into fewer, longer-term bills by tonight’s deadline – but Greece will probably have to use new laws to force the stubborn remainder to take losses. The arrangement is part of Greece’s €130bn (£108.5bn) bailout which aims to cut its debts from 160 [...]
Ratings execs under attack March 7, 2012 TOP credit ratings agency executives faced a wave of criticism from MPs yesterday for the mistakes made by their institutions before the financial crisis. The industry was either incompetent or its judgment affected by a conflict of interest, Tory MP David Ruffley told directors from Moody’s, Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, as well as smaller Canadian [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 7, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES CURRENCY TRADING VOLUMES DROP Volumes in the world’s multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange market have dropped to six-year lows as nervous investors have shied away from trading the euro and central banks have continued to maintain a tight grip on the value of their currencies. SOCGEN TO FACE REGULATOR PROBE Société Générale is to [...]
QE knocks pension funds March 7, 2012 QUANTITATIVE easing (QE) has pushed down bond yields, hitting pension funds and pushing final salary schemes deeper into the red, two new studies have shown. Deficits at FTSE350 firms rose £9bn in February to £92bn, according to data published yesterday by Mercer, as falling yields offset the positive impact of rising equity prices. The National [...]
BG considers $2bn gas sale March 7, 2012 British gas producer BG Group is offering up to a 20 per cent stake in its Queensland natural gas liquefaction facilities as it seeks to expand the $15bn project. BG will undertake a global roadshow to attract bidders for the 15-20 per cent stake, which could be valued at around $2bn based on past transactions. [...]