Ocado forecasts faster sales growth March 5, 2012 Online grocer Ocado posted a double-digit rise in first-quarter sales and forecast an acceleration in sales growth as the year progresses, service initiatives kick in and distribution capacity increases. The company, which mostly sells the products of upmarket grocer Waitrose via a fleet of brightly coloured vans, said on Monday gross sales increased 10.9 per [...]
Amlin slumps to loss as claims surge March 5, 2012 British insurer Amlin said it expected to return to profit this year after more than £500m in catastrophe claims pushed it deep into the red in 2011. Amlin, the biggest insurer operating in the Lloyd’s of London market, made a pre-tax loss of £193.8m last year, compared with a profit of £259.2m in 2010, it [...]
Glencore says Xstrata deal fair as its profits rise March 5, 2012 Commodities trader Glencore, which has agreed to a $37bn takeover of miner Xstrata, said the deal was “fair” for all shareholders at current levels, brushing aside hopes of a hint the offer could be sweetened. It made the comments as it said in its 2011 preliminary results that revenue during its first year as a [...]
Putin triumphs in Russia vote March 4, 2012 But elections are marred by claims of widespread fraud VLADIMIR Putin laid claim to a dramatic victory in Russia’s presidential elections last night despite allegations of vote rigging by his opponents. With counting mostly complete, Putin was on course to claim between 58 per cent and 65 per cent of the vote last night and [...]
Coalition hits out on Heathrow March 4, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT said yesterday it will not reconsider a third runway at Heathrow, batting away fresh claims from businesses and interest groups that more air capacity is desperately needed to support economic growth. “The government does not support the development of a third runway at Heathrow because of the unacceptable environmental consequences it would bring,” [...]
Creditors mull Greece deal March 4, 2012 GREECE’S fate will be decided by a small group of its private creditors this week as they mull the terms and conditions of a deal that aims to cut €107bn (£89bn) from Athens’ €340bn debt burden. Greek investors will have to decide in the next couple of days whether to accept a 75 per cent [...]
Taxing homes more isn’t the answer March 4, 2012 HERE is my factoid of the day: Italians have just replaced Russians as the top foreign buyers of prime central London properties, ending years of oligarch dominance, according to Knight Frank. The only reason the Greeks aren’t ranked higher is that there are too few of them. Analysts interested in predicting financial crises and unrest [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU TO PUSH QUOTA FOR WOMEN DIRECTORS The EU’s executive is to press ahead with plans for quotas to increase the proportion of women on corporate boards, triggering a protracted fight between Brussels and national governments. Viviane Reding, justice commissioner, will announce the first step towards European-level legislation, a year after she threatened [...]
Millions set to pay higher mortgage rate March 4, 2012 MORTGAGE repayments are set to rise across the board, with millions of borrowers expected to pay more each month. Over one million Halifax and NatWest customers have already been hit with rate rises, while some new customers to Santander will also see repayments go up. Those banks have blamed higher funding costs on wholesale and [...]
JP Morgan prop trading chief quits March 4, 2012 JP MORGAN has suffered a blow as its head of proprietary trading has decided to quit to set up a hedge fund. In response to regulatory pressures that will outlaw most US banks’ prop trading activities – that is, bets with their own cash rather than clients’ – it is understood that Mike Stewart is [...]
