Deutsche Telekom sticks to targets August 4, 2011 Deutsche Telekom is on track to meet its 2011 targets, it said, despite a poor performance in the US, continued economic weakness in southeastern Europe and sluggish growth in Germany. Second-quarter group net profit dropped 26.7 per cent to €348m (£302.4m), mainly due to €600m in one-off expenses for an early retirement plan in Germany, [...]
Hitachi and Mitsubishi mull merger August 4, 2011 Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have begun talks on what would be Japan’s biggest domestic merger, it is understood, heralding a long awaited shake-up of the nation’s industrial behemoths. However, officials from both firms denied the talks, saying no announcement is planned. A merger would create a $150bn revenue infrastructure firm, second only to GE, [...]
Google slams Apple collusion August 4, 2011 Google, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, lashed out at its biggest rivals, accusing them of banding together to block the internet giant in the red-hot smartphone arena. In a rare public outburst, Google blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and “other companies” for colluding to hamper the increasingly popular [...]
Rio Tinto falls short despite record profit August 4, 2011 RIO TINTO, the global mining giant, reported record half year profits yesterday, but material costs and harsher exchange rates left the company trailing behind market expectations. Pre-tax profits rose by 26 per cent to $11.01bn (£6.77bn) compared with $8.81bn in 2010, while underlying earnings increased by 35 per cent to $7.8bn. The boost was due [...]
Randgold shares soar as investors rush to gold and its profits treble August 4, 2011 Randgold Resources saw a 6.6 per cent surge yesterday as spooked investors rushed to gold-focused stocks as a safe-haven asset. The bounce came as profits at the West African-focused miner more than trebled in the second quarter on strong gold prices, higher production and a resurgence in sales from the Ivory Coast. Profits jumped to [...]
Shaftesbury sees Olympic boost August 4, 2011 Real estate investment trust Shaftesbury, the owner of over 500 restaurants, shops and bars in London’s West End, said next year’s London Olympic Games would drive up rental income and dividends. The company said improvements to public areas and transport links in the Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus areas of the city would increase visitor [...]
EasyJet passenger numbers up August 4, 2011 Passenger numbers continue to grow at low cost airline easyJet, with total numbers for July up eight per cent on the year before. The company said 5.4m people flew in July, up from 5.02m a year earlier. In the full 12 months to the end of July, easyJet said total passenger numbers were up 12 [...]
Slow progress at Enterprise Inns August 4, 2011 Average income at pubs group Enterprise Inns rose just one per cent from a year ago in the 18 weeks to April, it said yesterday. The company blamed the slow growth on a difficult comparative period last year, including the FIFA World Cup.
Investec bids for Evolution August 4, 2011 SOUTH African asset management group Investec confirmed it was the mystery bidder for City broker and wealth manager Evolution Group yesterday. Evolution sparked a flurry of speculation on Wednesday when it said it had received an early stage takeover approach, with banks such as Societe Generale and Royal Bank of Canada named as potential acquirers. [...]
MPs want answers from Morgan August 4, 2011 FORMER Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan has “very serious questions” to answer about his newspaper’s role in the hacking scandal, according to media select committee chair John Whittingdale. However, the committee has no plans to call Morgan in for a grilling unless more evidence emerges. Heather Mills has alleged the Mirror hacked her phone. Meanwhile, News [...]