CITY EYE August 11, 2009 The City sprawls out in the sunshine below the balcony at the top of Tower Bridge
Cash calls up, dividends fall August 11, 2009 UK COMPANIES raised more capital than they paid out in dividends in the first half of 2009, according to research to be published by Capita Registrars today. The Dividend Monitor will show that falling profits have led firms to pay out just £28.3bn in dividends in the period, nine per cent lower than in the first [...]
CIT delays quarterly report August 11, 2009 TROUBLED US bank CIT has delayed filing its second-quarter financial report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and repeated warnings that it may file for bankruptcy. The bank, which lends to thousands of US firms, said it could not meet the deadline for filing with the SEC without “unreasonable effort and expense” due [...]
Vedanta sweetens its bid for copper mining assets August 11, 2009 METALS group Vedanta Resources upped the ante on its bid for the assets of bankrupt US copper miner Asarco yesterday. Vedanta’s subsidiary Sterlite is fighting Grupo Mexico in a court in Texas for the assets. It hiked up its offer to $1.59bn (£957m) cash, from the $1.1bn it originally offered, and cut the value of [...]
Interserve boosted by outsourcing August 11, 2009 SHARES in building maintenance firm Interserve rose yesterday after it reported an 18.7 per cent rise in first-half profit and said economic pressures would further boost public and private sector outsourcing. The firm, which cleans Britain’s crown courts and maintains government buildings, posted a pre-tax profit of £40m, up 18.7 per cent year-on-year, on sales [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 11, 2009 Piper JaffrayThe boutique investment bank has hired Richard Kirkham, formerly a partner at Oriel Securities, as a principal of European equity sales. Kirkham was previously a director of UK small and mid-cap sales at Teather and Greenwood. He will be responsible for developing business relationships with assigned institutional accounts. BarclaycardBarclaycard has appointed David Daniel as [...]
FLAKEY SALES FOR PASTY FIRM August 11, 2009 HIGH street baker Greggs yesterday said wet weather has dampened sales, and reported flat sales in the six weeks to 8 August. Previously, sales were up 1.5 per cent in the half year to 27 June. The sausage roll and pasty maker, which attracts 6m customers a week, said pre-tax profits were up 7.3 per [...]
Terry Smith broker gears up for revival August 11, 2009 STOCKBROKER Collins Stewart yesterday signalled tentative signs of recovery as it confirmed a slew of new senior hires, despite posting a 36 per cent plunge in profits for the first half of the year. Collins Stewart, chaired by City veteran Terry Smith, said pre-tax profits fell to £6.1m, down from £9.6m in the first half [...]
Adecco surprises with a loss August 11, 2009 SWISS recruitment group Adecco surprised the market yesterday with a second-quarter net loss of €147m (£126m), compared to expectations of a €29m net profit, and announced a new round of cost-cutting. Adecco, the world’s largest recruiter, said that the loss was driven by impairment charges of €192m on goodwill and intangible assets. It added that [...]
International Power is boosted by strong sales in Asia and Oz August 11, 2009 ELECTRICITY producer International Power said yesterday it made a pre-tax profit of £579m, up from £2m in the same period from the year before, boosted by sales in Asia and Australia. The company said operating profit for the six months to 30 June was up 12 per cent to £555m, beating analysts’ estimates. “All divisions [...]