The Force is strong with Hasbro as Star Wars sales push revenue into hyperspace February 8, 2016 US toy maker Hasbro has reported revenue is up $170m in the fourth quarter, largely down to sales of Star Wars toys following the success of the latest film in the franchise. Revenue rose to $1.47bn from $1.30bn from a year before, beating expectations of $1.37bn. Growth in the company’s Nerf brand, as well as [...]
Déjà vu… US crude is under $30 again as industry leaders predict the supply glut will continue February 8, 2016 The US oil benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), has once again dipped under the $30 per barrel mark, having hovered over the psychological barrier for a week. Brent crude was trading around $33.29 when WTI fell under $30. The latest drop comes as world’s largest independent oil-trading house warns the oil prices could stay low for as long as [...]
Markets around Europe are tumbling on disappointing Chinese currency reserves February 8, 2016 Markets around Europe have plummeted following what started out looking like a good day. The FTSE 100 is down by nearly two per cent and at pixel time is at 5,744.05. It opened up this morning but has been unable to hold onto early gains. The blue chip index is now just 100 points off from becoming [...]
Addison Lee is taking the fight against Uber to the Big Apple February 7, 2016 To an outsider Addison Lee might look like a company that’s losing momentum. Disruptive rival Uber has burst on to the scene, and defied recent attempts (in the UK, at least) to use the strong arm of regulators to clip its wings. But Addison Lee insists that it had a great Christmas, and the minicab giant [...]
Dunedin private equity backs asset management adviser to fund expansion February 5, 2016 Private equity company Dunedin has invested £80m in specialist asset management adviser Alpha Financial Markets Consulting, City A.M. has learned. The consultancy plans to use the investment to expand its operations internationally and in the UK. Alpha’s chief executive Euan Fraser said: “Our plans for the future are no less ambitious and we look forward [...]
Philip Morris’ share price rises as cigarette seller coughs up mixed results February 4, 2016 Cigarette seller Philip Morris has missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations and signalled a low profit outlook for 2016. Revenue for the quarter slipped 11 per cent to $6.39bn (£4.38bn), with revenue declining in every geographic region. Chief executive André Calantzopoulos said: “Against a backdrop of improving industry volume trends in many key geographies, our cigarette brand portfolio performed superbly, [...]
Dunkin Donuts surprises with US sales dip as Baskin Robins ice cream demand grows February 4, 2016 Dunkin' Brands Group, the owner of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, has reported expectation beating results for the fourth quarter, despite its key US sales declining. The company posted a loss of $8.9m (£6.1m) for the period, down from a profit of $52.5m in the same three months last year. Global revenue climbed 5.5 per cent to [...]
AstraZeneca’s share price falls after revenue warning as it teeters on edge of patent cliff February 4, 2016 The so-called patent cliff is fast approaching for drug maker AstraZeneca as its warns that revenue and earnings could fall as rivals begin production on it’s money spinning cholesterol drug Crestor. The London listed company is pinning its hopes on its pipeline of experimental drugs that are are not expected to begin generating revenue in [...]
MPs turn up the heat on FRC over KPMG enquiry February 3, 2016 Influential MP and chairman of the Treasury select committee (TSC) Andrew Tyrie has increased the pressure on the accountancy watchdog over its supervision of big four auditor KPMG’s role in the collapse of HBOS. Last month the Financial Reporting Council said it would look into whether to open an investigation against KPMG, having previously decided not [...]
January sets the bar high for mega deals this year February 3, 2016 The start of 2016 has been the biggest since 2008 for merger and acquisition activity, according to deal data firm Mergermarket. A whopping $254.9bn worth of deals, up 6.7 per cent from the same period in 2015, have been done around the world to date this year with the latest deal to be announced, the takeover [...]
