J&J sees a profit rise, as sales dip October 13, 2009 Johnson & Johnson, the US healthcare firm, posted weaker-than-expected quarterly sales yesterday as sales of prescription drugs and cardiac stents disappointed. While third-quarter profit topped analyst forecasts, that was largely because of cost cuts and lower taxes. Generic competition and safety concerns have undermined sales of many major products for the firm. Anaemia medicine Procrit, [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 13, 2009 RothschildThe bank has hired Penny Lovell as client director in its private banking and trust business. Lovell joins from Fleming Family & Partners, where she spent eight years in a variety of senior client relationship roles, most recently as group head of business development. Prior to that, she spent five years at Coutts & Co, [...]
AIGin $2.15bn Taiwan sale October 13, 2009 INSURER American International Group (AIG) has finally struck a deal to sell its Taiwanese life insurance arm for $2.15bn (£1.36bn), in a key step in its bid to pay off its $80bn government bailout. AIGsold its Nan Shan Life arm to two little-known buyers – a start-up financial group run by a former Citigroup banker [...]
CIT chief plans exit as the lender struggles on October 13, 2009 Embattled CIT Group said yesterday that its chief executive Jeffrey Peek will retire at the end of the year, as the commercial finance company struggles to avoid bankruptcy. The company, which lends to small and medium-sized businesses, said its board of directors is forming a committee to search for a successor. Peek has led CIT [...]
RBS Coutts to ramp up hires after exodus October 13, 2009 RBS COUTTS may look to speed up its hiring plans in Asia after 70 staff staged a co-ordinated mass exodus from the private bank. The group of staff at the Singapore office of Royal Bank of Scotland’s private bank left simultaneously and many are now expected to join Swiss rival BSI. The departures come just [...]
Condom maker SSL sees sales growth but news isn’t enough to lift its shares October 13, 2009 Condom maker SSL International is on course to hit its earnings targets after sales grew 20 per cent during the first half of the year, the company said yesterday. SSL, whose products include Durex condoms and Scholl footwear, said sales in the six months to 30 September were up 20 per cent to £387m, from [...]
Union reaches deal with Magna on the future of Vauxhall’s 5,000 jobs in UK October 13, 2009 JOB fears at the UK’s Vauxhall plants were eased yesterday, after Unite union said it had made a deal with the car brand’s new owner, Magna. The union said 600 jobs would go in the UK – far fewer than the 1,200 initially anticipated – and all through voluntary redundancies. Vauxhall, which trades as Opel [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 13, 2009 TATE & LYLECredit Suisse raised its forecasts for Tate & Lyle by four per cent for next year and seven per cent for the following year, upped its price target to 550p, from 300p, and upgraded its rating to “outperform”. The broker notes that the starch business is holding up and said that the new [...]
Vodafone to develop PC back up October 13, 2009 Vodafone Group said yesterday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Decho, a subsidiary of technology firm EMC, to offer its customers secure, offsite protection and access to their PC’s digital files over fixed and mobile broadband connections. Vodafone PC Backup means that users will be able to back up their computer to a [...]
PLUS surges 270 per cent October 13, 2009 PLUS Markets Group announced a strong surge in reported flow for the third quarter of the year, with trading numbers up 270 per cent year-on-year. September was a strong month for volume, with PLUS reporting flow just shy of 10bn shares for the month, due to it being the first full month of reported flow [...]
