London hotels outperform UK as bookings dwindle October 19, 2009 HOTEL occupancy in the capital has seen a marginal decline compared to the rest of the UK this year, according to figures out yesterday by accountancy firm Deloitte. Hotels in the UK have suffered a 10.9 per cent fall in revenue per available room (Revpar) during the first three quarters of 2009 to just £60. [...]
Norilsk profit hit on metals price collapse October 19, 2009 Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest nickel miner, yesterday said lower metal prices pushed first-half profit down sharply, but the results beat analyst forecasts. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 84 per cent year-on-year to $419m (£256m). Mining companies around the world have struggled over the past year as falling industrial demand caused by the global [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 19, 2009 LAIRDKBC Peel Hunt upgraded Laird to “buy” from “hold” ahead of next week’s first half management statement. The broker has concluded there are potential upgrades to its forecasts based on restocking trends, high incremental profit drop-through and entry into a period of easier year-on-year comparatives.WH SMITHInvestec said that WH Smith’s expansion of its Travel division [...]
LVMH sales remain slow October 19, 2009 LVMH, the French luxury goods firm, said its third-quarter sales fell by 0.6 per cent after demand remained poor. But the firm, which produces brands like Moet champagne and Louis Vuitton fashion, said destocking of its top-end labels should come to an end soon. It reported sales of €4.14bn (£3.8bn), versus €4.16bn a year earlier. [...]
Opel trust:no need to reopen sale October 19, 2009 The German trust set up to oversee Opel said it saw no reason to re-open the carmaker’s sale despite EU concerns that Germany’s promises of state aid had skewed the bidding process. Seeking to deflate a row over €4.5bn (£4.1bn) in state aid that Berlin promised Opel should Canadian auto parts firm Magna buy the [...]
Gannett profits beat expectations October 19, 2009 Gannett, the largest US newspaper publisher, reported a lower quarterly profit that beat market forecasts yesterday thanks to cost cuts, while revenue fell because of a 28 per cent drop in publishing advertising sales. Gannett, publisher of USA Today, posted third-quarter net income of $73.8m (£45m) compared with $158.1m last year. Revenues fell by 18 [...]
Worthy equality laws can be counter productive October 19, 2009 Harriet Rubin, the author of “The Princessa: Machievelli for Women” has struck again. Her latest book, “The Mona Lisa Strategm: the Art of Women, Age and Power” popped into my mind earlier in the week, after the passing away of Bruce Wasserstein and Nichola Pease’s comments about maternity leave. “Become a great man who is [...]
Delta Lloyd IPO to net Aviva 1.1bn October 19, 2009 Life-insurer Aviva looks set to pocket €1.2bn (£1.1bn) when it floats Dutch unit Delta Lloyd in western Europe’s largest initial public offering (IPO) this year. “This step will free up capital for us to use elsewhere and give us the option of exploring further growth opportunities,” said Aviva chief executive Andrew Moss. Delta Lloyd shares [...]
NEON LIGHTS October 19, 2009 THE latest work from British artist Ron Haselden was yesterday unveiled at Land Securities’ New Street Square development. The installation, entitled Day and Night, Night and Day, took four years to complete and will fill the central walkway of the property. Visitors to the attraction will be able to enter a competition to design the [...]
Banchetti’s boutique nets 1bn October 19, 2009 RICCARDO Banchetti, the former Lehman Brothers European boss, has landed restructuring contracts worth over €1bn (£911m) for his new boutique advisory firm. Banchetti, who is suing Lehman for $26m of bonuses and share options that the investment bank failed to pay him after it collapsed spectacularly last year, has secured a slew of work within [...]
