February rise for Aussie exchange February 15, 2012 Australia’s ASX Ltd, operator of Asia’s fourth-largest bourse, reported a 2.9 per cent rise in half-year profits and said it expected market conditions to remain challenging in anticipation of rival Chi-X’s arrival. Sharp market volatility slammed trading revenue in the December quarter, but ASX said average daily cash market activity in the first two weeks [...]
Weir stock is most shorted on FTSE 100 February 15, 2012 ENGINEERING firm Weir has become the most shorted stock on the FTSE 100, as investors bet the company’s share price will be dented by weak demand for specialist mining equipment. Information provided by Data Explorers showed that 13.48 per cent of shares are out on loan – double the amount that were shorted only three [...]
Apple shoots past Samsung to nab top smartphone spot February 15, 2012 APPLE is again the top smartphone vendor in the world after selling 35.5m smartphones in the fourth quarter of last year and growing its market share to 23.8 per cent, according to research from Gartner. Samsung was hot on Apple’s heels, selling 34m out of the total 149m smartphones sold in the quarter. Around 472m [...]
MOULTON READY TO SPEND AGAIN February 15, 2012 Better Capital, the fund launched by private equity veteran Jon Moulton, yesterday said there are good prospects for further turnaround investments. It also said all its portfolio companies are making “solid progress” and that it was looking at opportunities “across a wide range of sectors”. The firm’s first turnaround fund has £24.9m left to invest. [...]
Fund to book gains on deal with Amazon February 15, 2012 INVESTMENT fund manager Tritax is trying to shake off the industry gloom with the launch of an innovative property venture after securing a long-term rental deal with Amazon. The £47.2m investment is in a 1m sq ft purpose-built distribution warehouse near Dunfermline, north of Edinburgh, which has been let for 20 years to Amazon, the [...]
RSM Tenon hires chief exec for turnaround February 15, 2012 STRUGGLING accountancy firm RSM Tenon, which last month issued a profit warning, has appointed a permanent chief executive to lead it through a strategic review. Chris Merry, a former chief executive of broker Matrix Group, will join RSM with immediate effect, replacing incumbent interim Adrian Martin, who will become non-executive chairman. Merry led Matrix for [...]
LAND SEC AND CANADA TO REVAMP VICTORIA February 15, 2012 Land Securities is going ahead with a £1bn redevelopment near Victoria station after signing a partnership deal with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Land Sec said it will sell the Victoria Circle site to a new joint venture with CPPIB for £163m, and will start demolishing the existing buildings as soon as September. The [...]
Danone trims its targets on tough Europe February 15, 2012 FRENCH food group Danone trimmed its sales growth and margin targets for 2012, saying tough western European markets would hold back strong growth in emerging markets, which now account for more than half of sales. The world’s largest yoghurt maker, with brands like Actimel and Activia, said yesterday it expected like-for-like sales to rise five [...]
South Asia fuels shops boom February 15, 2012 SHOPPERS from Asia helped keep Britain’s tills ringing last year, with their spending in the UK up by 34 per cent thanks to growing demand from south eastern countries like Singapore. Chinese travellers remained the biggest drivers of growth, with spending up 64 per cent year-on-year in January, according to Global Blue, the tax-free shopping [...]
H&M January takings rise as cost cutting pays off February 15, 2012 WORLD number two fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz said yesterday sales at its established stores grew in January for a second consecutive month, by three per cent in local currencies. The budget clothing firm and rivals such as Zara owner Inditex have had to slash prices to shift a build-up of stock caused by unusually [...]
