Manpower says Europe driving jump in profits October 21, 2013 MANPOWER, the world’s third-biggest staffing company, reported a 50 per cent jump in quarterly profit yesterday due to cost-cutting and improved hiring trends in Europe, and forecast current-quarter profit above analysts’ expectations. Manpower, which gets about two-thirds of its revenue from Europe, has previously shut offices in the region to cut costs as businesses held [...]
Halliburton dips in spite of rising oil work October 21, 2013 BUOYANT oilfield activity in Russia, Saudi Arabia and Angola helped Halliburton narrowly beat expectations yesterday with a 17 per cent rise in third-quarter profit, but its US-listed shares slipped since its main competitors did even better. The world’s second-largest oilfield services company has been chasing opportunities outside its traditionally dominant US market to better take [...]
Philips shares soar as revamp plan pays off October 21, 2013 PHILIPS reported a near-tripling in third-quarter net profit yesterday, beating forecasts and pushing its shares to their highest since mid-2010 after two years of cutting costs, selling weak businesses and targeting new products at emerging markets. The Dutch firm, once known for its audio and video products, has shifted its focus towards the fast-growing healthcare [...]
Dulux owner beats forecasts October 21, 2013 BETTER than expected quarterly operating profits at AkzoNobel caused optimism yesterday that the Dutch paints and chemicals firm will beat its forecast of flat 2013 earnings, sending its shares up as much as nine per cent. The owner of the Dulux paint brand has been hit in recent months by fragile consumer demand and weak [...]
SAP sticks to profit outlook October 21, 2013 GERMAN business software firm SAP bucked the trend among rivals yesterday by keeping its 2013 profit forecast, buoyed by strong demand for its web-based software, though it warned volatile exchange rates could hit its reported results. Shares in the company jumped over five per cent in early trading after it stuck by its forecast for [...]
City Moves for 22 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 21, 2013 Brocade The networking solutions company has announced the hire of Joy Gardham as regional sales director for Western Europe. She was previously at Oracle, where she was operations director. Prior to that, Gardham held various roles at ICS Solutions and Microsystems. Macquarie Securities Duncan Farr has been appointed head of financial institutions sales for Europe at [...]
Best of the Brokers for 22 October 2013 October 21, 2013 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ANGLO AMERICAN Deutsche Bank has reduced its target price from 1830p to 1780p, while keeping its “ buy” rating on the stock after Anglo American posted a steeper than expected drop in iron ore production last week. The broker believes margins and cash [...]
London Report: FTSE rises again on talk of £1bn bid for G4S arm October 21, 2013 BRITAIN’S top share index rose for the eighth straight session yesterday, led by G4S on talk of a bid for one of its businesses in a market supported by the prospects of US monetary policy remaining ultra-loose for longer. G4S rose 3.5 per cent, a top riser, after a report that British private equity group [...]
New York Report: McDonald’s US report feeds a fear of equities October 21, 2013 US STOCKS ended little changed last night as lacklustre earnings reports from McDonald’s and others fed concerns that equities were overpriced after the S&P index’s run to record highs last week. Investors also showed a reluctance to make aggressive bets ahead of today’s release of US payrolls data for September, which was delayed by the [...]
Alternative finance could liberate UK SMEs if regulators lift the speed limit October 21, 2013 THE ARGUMENT about banks and the adequacy (or not) of their lending to small businesses has raged on for about four years. It is a length of time comparable with the duration of the First World War, and this is a depressingly appropriate comparison. For all the thousands of rhetorical shells fired by both sides [...]
