Greece moves close to brink April 22, 2010 GREECE’S horrendous week got worse yesterday when its yawning budget deficit was revised by nearly one percentage point, and it was hit with another debt downgrade sparking a fresh bout of worry in bond markets. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said the heavily indebted country’s public shortfall would come in at 13.6 per cent [...]
We’re lying to ourselves on spending April 22, 2010 THERE was no clear winner from yesterday’s debates, in contrast to last week’s, when Nick Clegg triumphed. This time was very different: Gordon Brown did his best but failed to convince viewers, according to instant polls; Cameron fought back but didn’t manage to put in a game-changing, breakthrough performance. Clegg wasn’t as convincing as the [...]
Microsoft profit up 35pc April 22, 2010 MICROSOFT posted a better-than-expected 35 per cent jump in quarterly profit yesterday, lifted by sales of Windows 7. The company reported a net profit of $4.01bn (£2.6bn), for its fiscal third quarter ended 31 March, compared with $2.98bn, a year ago. The results were above analysts’ expectations. Quarterly net revenue rose six per cent to [...]
Bridgepoint to buy Hobbycraft April 22, 2010 Private equity group, Bridgepoint Capital, is in talks to buy Hobbycraft for more than £100m. The family-owned arts and craft retailer, had also attracted attention from private equity group Exponent, as well as Halfords, the car parts and cycle retailer. Blackstone, owner of the US group Michaels, which is the world’s largest arts and crafts [...]
Capital One posts strong profit April 22, 2010 Capital One, the credit card issuer and bank, posted a stronger-than-expected first quarter profit of $636.3m (£414m) yesterday as it set aside less money to cover credit losses. Losses on bad loans peaked in the first quarter, and the bank plans to ramp up its business as the recession ends, chief executive Richard Fairbank said. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 22, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLDMAN ROLE IN LLOYDS DEAL IN SPOTLIGHT Goldman Sachs was both an underwriter and an investor in Lloyds Banking Group’s vast refinancing deal late last year, the FT has learned, highlighting the potential conflicts of interest at the heart of the investment bank’s business model. According to four people involved in the capital [...]
Virgin in price fixing inquiry April 22, 2010 SIR Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic has said it will “robustly defend” itself against accusations of price fixing by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The competition watchdog alleges, Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific may have illegally co-ordinated prices for passenger flights between London and Hong Kong. The body said it had issued a statement of [...]
Blackstone offers support as Goldman prepares to testify April 22, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Blackstone Group stood by Goldman yesterday saying it would remain a major client of the bank and has never had reason to question its behaviour on any deal it has worked on with them, chief executive Stephen Schwarzman said. “We’ve been working with Goldman Sachs since Blackstone was founded almost 25 years [...]
Kindle sales help to fuel profits at Amazon, but forecasts weigh April 22, 2010 AMAZON, the online retailer, yesterday reported a 68 per cent rise in net profits for the first quarter of the year to $299m (£194.5m). Resilient demand for online goods supported by sales of its Kindle e-reader fuelled the sales growth. However it also forecast lower-than-expected earnings, raising concerns about the online retailer’s future margins. Amazon [...]
OBAMA ATTACKS WALL STREET April 22, 2010 PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday chastised Wall Street for “reckless risk taking” and “loosely monitored gambling” as he promised to impose “common sense reforms” on the financial industry with or without its backing. He warned a “free market” did not mean “a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it.”
