EMEA bears brunt of Nomura’s $1bn cost cuts September 6, 2012 Nomura, Japan’s biggest brokerage, said it will make cuts in its equities and investment banking businesses as it looks to chop $1bn (£628m) in costs, mainly from its ailing overseas operations, cooling its global ambitions. Unveiling details of a $1bn restructuring it outlined last week, Nomura said the combined European, Middle East and Africa region [...]
Morrisons profit rises in tough market September 6, 2012 Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket Morrisons posted first-half profit towards the top end of forecasts and said it was on track to meet its expectations for the year even though it anticipated no let-up in pressure on the consumer. Morrisons, which trails Tesco, Wal-Mart’s Asda and J Sainsbury by annual sales, said today it made an underlying [...]
Dixons maintains solid start in first quarter September 6, 2012 Dixons, Europe’s second-largest electrical retailer, maintained its solid start to the year with five per cent like-for-like sales growth in the first quarter, boosted by a busy summer of events in Britain. The group, which also trades as Currys and PC World in the UK, Elkjop in Nordic countries, Unieuro in Italy and Kotsovolos in [...]
Qantas agrees alliance with Emirates September 6, 2012 Australia’s struggling Qantas Airways has agreed to a 10-year alliance with Dubai’s Emirates, a key step in the carrier’s efforts to shore up its loss-making international business. Qantas will replace Singapore with Dubai as its hub for European flights from March 2013 and coordinate pricing, sales and schedules with Emirates under the partnership unveiled this [...]
News Corp cuts Murdoch’s 2012 bonus September 6, 2012 News Corp has cut this year’s bonuses for four top executives, including mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son James, after a phone-hacking scandal at the former British newspaper The News of the World, a regulatory filing showed. News Corp’s compensation committee said in a filing last night with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that [...]
OFT calls for review into petrol prices September 5, 2012 The consumer affairs watchdog has called for information on petrol and diesel prices from the industry and consumer groups to identify whether there are competition problems it needs to tackle. In a sign that authorities are worried about near record high fuel prices, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is calling for responses on whether [...]
Barclays names European retail banking boss September 5, 2012 Barclays’ new chief executive Antony Jenkins has handed the running of its Continental European retail and business banking division to Curt Hess, currently the division’s chief financial officer, the bank said today. In one of Jenkins’ first significant appointments, Hess will lead the European Retail and Business Banking (ERBB) division, covering Spain, Portugal, France and [...]
FTSE 100 opens lower on weak economic data September 5, 2012 The index fell in early trading, as investors were cautious on sluggish economic data. A contraction in US manufacturing, following a production slowdown in China, meant shares were little changed ahead of the European Central Bank’s monthly meeting tomorrow. Oil firms and miners clustered in the fallers, with natural resources group Bumi leading the pack, [...]
Australian economy solid in second quarter September 5, 2012 Australia’s economy enjoyed solid growth last quarter to again outpace its peers, but there was little time to celebrate as tumbling export prices and a slowdown in China argued for a cut in interest rates now to safeguard growth in the future. Government data today showed GDP rose 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, [...]
SMEs reduce borrowing on worries over economic slowdown September 5, 2012 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) cut back on borrowing in the past quarter, a survey showed today, highlighting the government’s uphill struggle to boost economic growth by unblocking the flow of credit. Britain entered its second recession in four years in late 2011 as government spending cuts and the Eurozone debt crisis have weighed on [...]
