Punch Taverns chief resigns March 30, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pubs firm Punch Taverns said yesterday chief executive Giles Thorley is to stand down from the board after seven years at the helm during which the company’s debt rose to record levels. Punch, which has over 7,500 pubs across Britain, said it was well advanced in the process of appointing a successor as [...]
Successor has huge in-tray March 30, 2010 OUTGOING Punch boss Giles Thorley deserves some praise for his stewardship of the pubs firm through the recession. He was quick to cut the group’s dividend and ruthlessly disposed of underperforming sites, even when they had symbolic importance. The recent share placing was also a broad success. But there is no getting away from it: [...]
JKX plans to double production March 30, 2010 JKX, the oil and gas producer, reported a six per cent rise in production in 2009 and promised a year of growth as it looks to nearly double its production by 2011. It said it plans to invest $230m (£152m) in its Russian and Ukrainian operations in 2010, following a fundraising in January. This year [...]
AXA and F2i to bid for Endesa’s network March 30, 2010 AXA Private Equity is preparing to make an offer for Endesa’s gas assets in Spain together with Italian investment fund F2i, the head of AXA’s infrastructure fund said yesterday. Regulated gas assets are increasingly attracting investors, who want inflation-protected long-term returns and reliable cashflows.
DMGT sees ad revenue boost March 30, 2010 Daily Mail & General Trust showed a remarkable recovery in advertising, with sales for the first quarter of 2010 leaping eight per cent year-on-year. Display ads led the charge with a rally of 13 per cent, while digital ads rose by three per cent. The bulk of the recovery was down to a turnaround at [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF DMGT’S TRADING FIGURES? March 30, 2010 LORNA TILBIAN | NUMIS SECURITIES We are upgrading our forecasts by five per cent. Business to consumer is benefiting from improved advertising, and we expect this to continue into the third quarter, as evidenced by reports that ITV will see strong trading then. MICK GILLIGAN | KILLIK & CO We would be mindful of the [...]
Retail fund sales hit new high March 30, 2010 Last month was the strongest ever February for retail fund sales, with receipts of more than £1.9bn, according to the Investment Management Association. Funds under management reached £485bn at the end of February – an all time high. It was £13.1bn higher than in January and £143.6bn, or 46 per cent, up year-on-year. The rise [...]
Should the Tories cut tax on jobs? March 30, 2010 THE Conservatives have now promised to reverse part of Labour’s rise in National Insurance. The Conservatives have said it was a “tax on jobs” and that under the move anyone earning up to £45,500 will now be better off; but the move will cost around £6bn a year and critics have said it goes against [...]
Victory for mutual fund industry March 30, 2010 The Supreme Court yesterday handed a victory to the $11 trillion mutual fund industry by endorsing a 1982 legal standard to decide the fairness of fund fees, a ruling that gives companies considerable freedom to set investment adviser charges. The justices unanimously adopted the standard in a 1982 US appeals court ruling that fees are [...]
US urges EADS bid confirmation March 30, 2010 US Air Force chief of staff general Norton Schwartz said yesterday the Pentagon needs to know if Europe’s EADS is serious about bidding to build 179 aerial refueling tankers before granting an extension to the 10 May deadline for bids. If that is the case, then a “modest” extension would probably help to ensure that [...]
