Inmarsat warns on profit November 7, 2013 Inmarsat, the London-listed satellite communications group, yesterday warned a difficult outlook for its US government business and a later-than-planned launch of its new GX satellite would hit operating profit next year. It said that much of the costs of rolling out its new GX network would still come next year, which would combine with investments [...]
Thomas Cook gets new UK boss November 7, 2013 Holiday group Thomas Cook yesterday announced Reto Wilhelm as its new UK boss as part of a board-level reshuffle. Peter Fankhauser, the current British chief, is being promoted to the newly-created role of chief operating officer. The firm is halfway through a three-year restructuring led by boss Harriet Green, who said yesterday’s changes were intended [...]
Euro Disney narrows its losses November 7, 2013 The financial crisis continues to hit Euro Disney hard, with revenues falling by one per cent and visitor numbers falling in the full year to the end of September. The Disneyland Paris operator posted a loss of €78m (£65.1m), an improvement on the €100.2m it lost last year, but attendance figures were at the lowest [...]
Best of the Brokers for 08 November 2013 November 7, 2013 WHITBREAD Morgan Stanley has repeated its “equalweight” rating on the leisure group and hiked its target from 2,900p to 3,400p to reflect a better outlook across the sector. The broker sees Whitbread as a high quality investment but believes there is a margin risk that it not yet factored into forecasts. BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO Barclays [...]
London Report: FTSE hit by fears fall in euro will hurt UK exports November 7, 2013 THE benchmark equity index fell for the third straight session yesterday, which traders attributed to a rise in sterling against the euro that could hit UK exporters. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.7 per cent, or 44.47 points, to 6,697.22 points – underperforming other major European stock markets such as Germany’s DAX, [...]
New York Report: Wall St slides as poor results hit sentiment November 7, 2013 FRENZIED buying in Twitter shares grabbed Wall Street’s attention yesterday, as the social media stock surged well above expectations, while major indexes fell, with the S&P 500 suffering its worst daily decline since August. The broader market was hurt by weak earnings from Whole Foods and Qualcomm. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index recorded its biggest daily [...]
Europe ignores its relative decline – the UK could have a different future November 7, 2013 A NEW strain of gormlessness is infecting Europe. Despite the temporary distraction of a European Central Bank rate cut, it’s the problems besetting America and the Brics that have been noisily and gleefully recounted in European newspapers on a daily basis. These difficulties are certainly real, but their prominent coverage belies the intellectual blind alley [...]
The Long View: Governor Christie could be the straight-talking heavyweight his party needs November 7, 2013 A NEW kind of presidential run may have just got underway in America. With Hillary Clinton the likely Democrat nominee in 2016, the Republicans are in desperate need of a challenger who can stand up against her campaigning heft. Chris Christie may be the literal and figurative heavyweight his party needs. The New Jersey governor, [...]
How ending the letting free-for-all could save our failing high streets November 7, 2013 THE RECENT purchase of much of the retail property along London’s Queensway by Meyer Bergman and a Brunei family was a keynote deal. As all successful retail property investors know: control the mix of shops, and you control the fortunes of the area. Control the Queensway mix and you can restore a down-at-heel shopping offer [...]
Letters to the Editor – 08/11 – Rail competition, Ryanair grounded, Best of Twitter November 7, 2013 Rail competition [Re: It’s time to fight the claim that consumer choice doesn’t improve public services, Wednesday] Paul Ormerod’s support of train operating companies is laughable. There is almost no true competition: I can wait all day on Greenwich platform, and only Southeastern trains will go by. There is no choice: train operating companies are state-subsidised monopolies, [...]
