Risk-takers rewarded as former Olympus boss Woodford wins March 20, 2012 AND SO we boldly go to the British Museum, where the fourth annual FT Boldness in Business Awards were held last night. The world’s risk-takers and whistleblowers mingled with athlete Christine Ohuruogu; Locog chief Paul Deighton; and Lakshmi Mittal, head of co-sponsor ArcelorMittal. Michael Woodford MBE (pictured), the man who exposed camera firm Olympus’s huge [...]
Debenhams results bring retail cheer March 20, 2012 DEPARTMENT store group Debenhams has posted a “resilient” sales performance for the first half of the year, providing a glimmer of hope that rising consumer confidence may be coming to the aid of high street spending. Chef executive Michael Sharp, who replaced Rob Templeman last year, said a successful January sale and the popularity of [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK FOR DEBENHAMS? March 20, 2012 KEITH BOWMAN | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Debenhams continues to be given the benefit of the doubt. Self-help measures have propelled a group recovery, with moves overseas and online further supporting investor sentiment. With the valuation still seen as reasonable and hopes of a share buy-back persisting, market consensus denotes a buy. ANDREW WADE | NUMIS Debenhams [...]
Metro sees flat earnings this year as economy woes weigh March 20, 2012 GERMANY’S Metro, the world’s fourth largest retailer, yesterday said it did not expect earnings to grow in 2012 due to a stuttering global economy and costs from expanding its cash and carry and consumer electricals stores businesses. The group, which also runs hypermarkets and department stores, said sales should grow in the coming year, but [...]
AstraZeneca gives up on Targacept antidepressant March 20, 2012 ASTRAZENECA has thrown in the towel on an experimental antidepressant targeting nicotine receptors after the drug licensed from Targacept failed in two remaining clinical trials, thinning out its pipeline further. While the news had been widely expected, since two previous Phase III studies also missed their targets, it hit shares in Targacept hard and the [...]
Equistone buys Audley Travel March 20, 2012 The private equity house hived off from Barclays last year has taken a majority stake in touring firm Audley Travel in a deal in the region of £90m. Equistone Partners Europe said it bought into the Oxfordshire firm because it had proved to be “resilient” through the downturn. Its founders will remain on the board.
Oil prices to knock air profits March 20, 2012 The International Air Transport Association has cut its forecast for global airline profits this year due to a sharp rise in oil prices, saying a spike to $150 per barrel could lead to losses as high as $5.3bn (£3.3bn). In its financial forecast for 2012, IATA forecast industry profits of $3bn yesterday, down from a [...]
Colliers extends bid deadline March 20, 2012 Property services group Colliers has extended its “put up or shut up” deadline for its majority shareholder Firstservice to make a bid for its troubled UK arm for a second time. Firstservice remains in “constructive discussions” with stakeholders, and how has until 3 April to bid.
HP to merge PCs and printers March 20, 2012 Hewlett Packard chief Meg Whitman plans to combine the computing giant’s PC and printing divisions in a major internal overhaul intended to spur combined sales of hardware to customers, two sources familiar with the move said yesterday.
SuperGroup shakes up team at the top March 20, 2012 SUPERGROUP has added two new executives to its board as the fashion house looks to strengthen its management team and expand its presence overseas. The company behind the Superdry brand said that Susanne Given, formerly John Lewis’ director of fashion and beauty, will take up the newly created role of chief operating officer next month. [...]