UK retail sales to dip in 2010 November 4, 2009 British retail sales will be flat over Christmas and are expected to fall 1.5 per cent in 2010, according to data from Deloitte. The business advisory firm said shoppers were moving towards supermarket groups and non-food retailers need to focus more on differentiating their products and improving customer service.
Resolution lists on LSE today November 4, 2009 Resolution Ltd, the new company formed after the £1.86bn takeover of Friends Provident by Clive Cowdrey’s Resolution, will list on the London Stock exchange today. The High Court yesterday gave the green light for a reduction in capital as part of a £312m cash and shares payment being made by Resolution to complete the deal.
Quintain rights issue gets support November 4, 2009 Property firm Quintain Estates & Development is today expected to launch a £180m rights issue after receiving support from institutional investors for the cash call, and intends to use the rights issue to bolster its balance sheet and fund developments.
Goldman’s $100m a day profits haul November 4, 2009 GOLDMAN Sachs lost money on just one day in the third quarter and made more than $100m in profits on 36 of the 65 days. The stellar performance indicates that the drive to revive markets following the financial crisis is continuing to trigger huge windfalls for some institutions. The Wall Street bank made at least [...]
Huge loss of 1bn fuels bailout fears at Bank of Ireland November 4, 2009 BANK of Ireland reported pre-tax losses of almost €1bn (£895m) yesterday and warned it may need another state bailout. The bank, which has 44 branches in Northern Ireland and runs a financial services joint venture with the UK Post Office, said the past six months had been difficult as it gave a cautious appraisal of [...]
Kraft under pressure to hike its bid for Cadbury November 4, 2009 KRAFT may be forced to cough up more cash in its bid for confectionary group Cadbury after an underwhelming set of third quarter results – which analysts say make its share option element of the offer less attractive. Kraft’s figures disappointed industry observers after it posted a modest 0.5 per cent like-for-like growth which paled [...]
Cameron vows to defend City from EU rules November 4, 2009 DAVID Cameron yesterday said the Conservatives would defend the competitiveness of the City against European regulation if his party is elected to government next year. Pledging to seek the return of some powers from the EU to Britain if they won an election expected next year, Cameron said they did not aim to sabotage the [...]
JD Wetherspoon shares lift on investors’ dividend hopes November 4, 2009 JD Wetherspoon’S shares climbed yesterday after the pubs group said it expects to complete a refinancing of its debt by March next year, raising hopes it will resume dividend payments and overshadowing a slowing in the rate of its sales growth. The group’s shares lifted by almost three per cent to 477.7p by the close. [...]
Next delights City with hike in forecasts November 4, 2009 FASHION retailer Next yesterday told the City to upp its forecasts for the year after reporting a better than expected third quarter. Chief executive Simon Wolfson said: “There was a noticeable pick -up in sales in October as we came up against the weak comparatives of the previous year: It was at this time last [...]
M&S beats forecasts as it says no to discounting November 4, 2009 MARKS & SPENCER (M&S) yesterday said that there would be no blanket promotions that dominated the high street last year in the run up to the Christmas period, after its half year sales beat City forecasts. Executive chairman Sir Stuart Rose yesterday said that this year included very different circumstances. He said: “Last year people [...]
