Darty shares boosted as sales rise December 18, 2013 Darty’s recent turnaround have boosted the French electrical manufacturer as operating profits for its first half rose 25.6 per cent to €15.2m, the company said yesterday. Revenue rose 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis sending its shares up 3.5 per cent. The company also announced plans to sell it Turkish unit to concentrate on [...]
London’s west end tops list of pricey offices December 18, 2013 LONDON’S west end has unseated Hong Kong Central as the world’s most expensive office market, regaining the top spot it lost three years ago. The cost of renting an office in the west end has shot up by 14.3 per cent in the past year to $259.36 per square feet, driven by a squeeze in [...]
Inside Track: My top tip for 2014: Deutsche Post will buy Royal Mail December 18, 2013 IT wouldn’t be the final column of a calendar year without some predictions for the next 12 months. Here are my top three: Royal Mail will complete a journey from being wholly-owned by the UK state to wholly-owned by a German enterprise within little more than 12 months. Deutsche Post won’t get it delivered cheap, [...]
Bottom Line: Firms are willing to pay again to be in the middle of the action December 18, 2013 LONDON has always had its sector specific hotspots. Broadly speaking, those looking for underwriting advice should use the Gherkin as their marker, while tech geeks sat-nav their way to Silicon Roundabout and hedgies head for Mayfair. The grand old townhouses of the St James and its surrounds are a natural home for these discreet financiers, [...]
Ofgem hires a new chief exec December 18, 2013 ENERGY regulator Ofgem yesterday said it has hired Dermot Nolan as its new chief executive, effective from March 2014. Noland has been chairman at the Commission for Energy Regulation in Ireland since 2011 and a commissioner since 2008. The head of Ofgem’s market division, Andrew Wright, has been acting as temporary chief executive since Alistair [...]
Hodgson picked as Ofcom chair December 18, 2013 DAME Patricia Hodgson was yesterday officially confirmed as the next chairman of Ofcom. Hodgson, who started her career as a producer and journalist, will replace current Ofcom chairman Colette Bowe when she steps down at the end of March 2014 after serving her full term. Hodgson, who project managed the BBC’s switch to digital, joined [...]
Ford warns new car launches will dent its profit growth next year December 18, 2013 FORD warned yesterday that the cost of launching new vehicles and a deteriorating Venezuelan economy would dent its profit next year, news that sent the US’ second-largest automaker’s shares to their biggest one-day percentage drop in more than two years. The Detroit-based company said its mid-decade target for a global automotive profit margin of eight [...]
FedEx bullish for the full year December 18, 2013 FedEx raised its full-year earnings forecast yesterday but its quarterly results missed forecasts. It sees full-year earnings per share growth between eight and 14 per cent above last year, up from its previous forecast of between seven and 13 per cent. FedEx earned $500m, or $1.57 a share, in the second quarter ended 30 November, [...]
SAC’s Steinberg found guilty December 18, 2013 Michael Steinberg, a top portfolio manager at Steven A. Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors hedge fund, was found guilty yesterday of charges that he traded on insider information. A federal jury found Steinberg, 41, guilty on all five counts of conspiracy and securities fraud he faced. Prosecutors said he traded on confidential information that was passed [...]
Complaints bodies beefed up December 18, 2013 The government has announced four bodies that have been given the power to report problems in the financial services sector to the Financial Conduct Authority. Which?, the Consumer Council Northern Ireland, Citizens Advice and the Federation of Small Businesses can make complaints to the FCA which it must respond to within 90 days. Sajid Javid, [...]
