Value lines lift Northern Food’s sales May 27, 2009 A SURGE in demand for value lines helped Northern Foods beat market expectations for full year sales yesterday. But the group’s pre-tax profit still fell 5.4 per cent to £47.5m from £50.1m the year before due to restructuring costs. And it warned on future trading due to the rising price of ingredients and pressure from [...]
Fashion turns to fury as Versace chief exec walks May 27, 2009 VERSACE chief executive Giancarlo di Risio will soon leave the Italian luxury firm after a series of boardroom clashes. Earlier this week the group denied a feud between creative director Donatella Versace and di Risio. Di Risio was hired in 2004 by Versace, which is owned by Donatella, her brother Santo and her daughter Allegra. [...]
ANZ favourite in race for RBS Asia operations May 27, 2009 AUSTRALIA and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) moved into pole position to clinch a deal for Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) Asian assets after rival bidders HSBC and Standard Chartered failed to come up with firm bids. ANZ said it had submitted a non-binding bid for the assets and is raising up to A$2.85bn (£1.38bn) [...]
Old Mutual in China U-turn May 27, 2009 INSURER Old Mutual pulled out of buying a 49 per cent stake in China’s ABN Amro Teda Fund Management yesterday as part of a drive to streamline its businesses. Old Mutual, South Africa’s largest insurer, said in March it would scale back its expansion in Asia following a review of the company instigated by chief [...]
The 10 tips to make sure that you perform at that vital job interview May 27, 2009 JOB interviews are terrifying at the best of times. In a depressed job market where interviews are few and far between, it’s even more important to be an expert in getting them right. The first thing, of course, is getting the interview. “If you’re out of work looking for work, flexibility is the key right [...]
Ombudsman registers jump in insurance firm complaints May 27, 2009 COMPLAINTS about insurance companies rose by 84 per cent last year as firms tightened their belts during the economic crisis, sometimes at the expense of customer services. A Financial Ombudsman Service report, published yesterday, says it handled a record 127,471 new disputes about firms in all sectors over the last year and a staggering 789,877 [...]
NYSE Euronext gets go ahead for derivatives clearing house May 27, 2009 NYSE EURONEXT has received approval from the FSA to launch NYSE Liffe Clearing, a clearing house for its London derivatives market. NYSE Liffe Clearing is due to launch on 27 July, subject to a period of review, as a new division of NYSE Liffe. “The new clearing arrangements will enable us for the first time [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS May 27, 2009 MARSTON’SKBC Peel Hunt highlights Marston’s as the only pub company that has maintained its dividend, but also not chosen to raises new equity. The analysts argue that management has demonstrated its commitment to moving cash in the right direction, and argue the shares current level offers a buying opportunity. Ups target price to 200p. AVEVAInvestec [...]
Banks and retailers rally to steer the FTSE 100 ahead May 27, 2009 GAINS in banks and retailers outweighed weakness in energy stocks and drugmakers yesterday to leave the FTSE 100 up by 0.1 per cent, or 4.51 points, at 4,416.23. Trade was thin with just 67 per cent of the average of the last 90 days of trading transacted with the absence of concrete data on the [...]
Rising yields on US debt dents stocks May 27, 2009 US stocks dropped yesterday as rising yields on US government debt fuelled concern that businesses and consumers could face higher borrowing costs, which could hamper an economic recovery. The decline was broad-based, with manufacturer 3M and International Business Machines among stocks leading a 2 per cent fall on the blue-chip Dow. The S&P and Nasdaq [...]
