BAT triggers buyback but shares drop February 24, 2011 BRITISH American Tobacco’s (BAT) resumption of its share buyback programme and an upbeat 2011 outlook yesterday failed to offset concerns about declining cigarette volumes. Shares in the London-based maker of Kent, Dunhill, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall cigarettes, fell 1.5 per cent despite the £750m share buyback plan and BAT saying the worst of the [...]
Elisabeth Murdoch sells TV production firm to her father February 21, 2011 THE DAUGHTER of media mogul Rupert Murdoch has agreed to sell the television production company she founded to her father for £415m. Elisabeth Murdoch will sell Shine Group, which makes programmes such as MasterChef and the Wright Stuff, to News Corp. She stands to pocket £200m from the deal, as well as gain a place [...]
Legal eagle: how London’s top law firm retained its grip on the City February 20, 2011 The head of law firm Slaughter and May is two minutes late for his interview with City A.M., for which he immediately apologies. The first thing is surprising; the second is not. The partners in this blueblooded City institution have spent a lifetime doing things correctly. Even among other Magic Circle outfits, this firm manages [...]
Merc sales driving Daimler February 16, 2011 GERMAN carmaker Daimler yesterday posted disappointing fourth-quarter earnings, with an upbeat outlook failing to deliver the detail that analysts said was needed to reassure investors. “On balance, a weak fourth quarter 2010 and no specific 2011 outlook”, wrote JP Morgan analyst Ranjit Unnithan in a research note. Daimler, which ditched its dividend last year, predicted [...]
British Land net asset value up in third quarter February 15, 2011 REAL-ESTATE company British Land yesterday posted 25 per cent growth in third-quarter net asset value (NAV), and said that it is investing in the south-east of England with the purchase of a shopping centre in Barnstaple, Devon, for £30m at a net yield of eight per cent. British Land – whose portfolio is dominated by [...]
EDF profits up but investors fear regulation change February 15, 2011 French power company EDF has posted higher annual profits but disappointed investors with a profit forecast suspected to be over-optimistic as de-regulation of the French market kicks in. The former French monopoly is being forced to sell up to a quarter of its domestic nuclear output to competitors to help open up markets. Traders said [...]
Inflation rises to two-year high February 15, 2011 Consumer price inflation surged to double the Bank of England’s target in January, official data showed, raising pressure on the central bank to look seriously at increasing interest rates. The Office for National Statistics said that the rate of consumer price inflation rose to four per cent in January, in line with economists’ forecasts, from [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS EDITED BY JULIET SAMUEL February 14, 2011 Mazars The law firm has appointed a national head of tax in the UK: Tim Davies (pictured). He has been at the firm for four years, advising on a range of clients. He will now head up a practice of more than 200 professionals in tax. Previously, he worked at advisory firms PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & [...]
Egypt strikes force holiday February 13, 2011 EGYPT has been forced to declare today a bank holiday after workers emboldened by the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak and angered by low wages and poor working conditions disrupted operations at the country’s state banks. Banks were already due to be closed tomorrow to mark Prophet Mohamed’s birthday. Now the market is likely to [...]
Esprit profit drops February 10, 2011 Clothing retailer Esprit Holdings posted a 21 per cent fall in first-half net profit and will switch its textile sourcing to Bangladesh from southern China to cut costs. Esprit, like rivals such as the world’s No3 fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz faces the challenge of rising raw material costs, such as cotton, which will pressure [...]