Collins Stewart buys wealth firm June 17, 2010 Stockbroker Collins Stewart yesterday struck a deal to buy independent wealth manager Andersen Charnley and its subsidiary Andersen Charnley Investment Management for an initial £5m cash-and-stock consideration. Collins Stewart will pay £3.5m in cash and the remainder in its shares, in addition to up to £2m in cash and shares 12 months after the completion [...]
Ashtead sees its profits plunge June 17, 2010 Equipment-hire company Ashtead Group posted a 95 per cent fall in full-year profit yesterday as construction markets remained weak, but insisted that the worst was over. For the year ended 30 April, Ashtead reported a pre-tax profit of £5m, before items, compared with £87.4m a year ago, and in the range of analyst expectations. Revenue [...]
Wa-Mu postpones key hearing June 17, 2010 Bankrupt Washington Mutual postponed a key hearing yesterday, which the company’s attorney said would allow more time to discuss with shareholders changes to its planned reorganisation. The company, whose bankruptcy stems from the biggest bank failure in US history, said the hearing on the company’s disclosure statement and shareholders’ request for an independent examiner would [...]
UK car output up 50pc in May June 17, 2010 UK car production surged 54 per cent last month, compared to May 2009, signalling an underlying stability in the car industry. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed that 104,365 cars were produced last month, marking a sharp upturn from the same time last year when companies like Honda temporarily suspended [...]
Critics may just create helpful siege mentality June 17, 2010 FROM the very moment the final whistle blew in Rustenburg on Saturday, England’s players will have been yearning to get back on the pitch today against Algeria. Whether they have been training, playing table tennis and darts, going on visits to schools or taking in the other games on television, time will have been dragging [...]
F Telecom set to bid for Le Monde June 17, 2010 Lagardere said it could sell its stake in Le Monde to France Telecom yesterday, raising the possibility the French government could become an indirect owner in one of the country’s most respected newspapers. Lagardere said it wanted to sell its 17 per cent stake and said it had received a notice of interest from France [...]
Eskom in talks to avoid strike June 17, 2010 South Africa’s biggest union and the state-owned power utility Eskom were in last ditch pay talks yesterday, with the workers threatening a strike that could disrupt electricity supply during the World Cup. A union representing about half of the workers at the utility had threatened to strike from as early as today if demands for [...]
Balfour Beatty seeks margin boost June 17, 2010 The head of Britain’s largest infrastructure group, Balfour Beatty, said yesterday it would raise margins at US unit Parsons Brinckerhoff, and strip out overall costs to help offset severe public spending cuts. Tyler said Balfour would invest further in the promising US market this year.
TV purchases boost retail sales in May June 17, 2010 FOOTBALL-CRAZY Britons splashing out on new televisions ahead of the 2010 World Cup gave retail sales a much-needed boost in May. The healthy 0.6 per cent gain last month contradicted the surveys from the CBI and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which pointed to much weaker growth in sales. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) [...]
Rise in US jobless claims and plunge in prices spark fears of growth slowdown June 17, 2010 NEW US claims for jobless aid rose last week while consumer prices notched their largest decline in nearly 1-1/2 years in May, suggesting interest rates will remain ultra low to nurse the fragile economic recovery. Fears that growth could be slowing were heightened yesterday by a report showing factory activity in the country’s Mid-Atlantic region [...]
