Robert Walters sees profits rocket 80pc in 2014 February 26, 2015 MULTINATIONAL recruiter Robert Walters yesterday reported an 80 per cent surge in profits for the year ended 31 December, citing strong net fee growth across all its regions. Profit before tax grew to £18.2m over the period, with total revenue expanding 14 per cent to £679.6m. On a regional basis, net fee income in the [...]
Euro confidence ticks upward February 26, 2015 CONSUMER and business confidence in the Eurozone is rising, figures showed yesterday. The economic sentiment index published by the European Commission (EC) to a score of 102.1 in February from January’s 101.4. “A second successive appreciable rise in overall Eurozone economic sentiment to a seven-month high in February suggests that a much more competitive euro, [...]
JP Morgan and the Brookings Institution host UK-US trade summit: What can cities do to boost exports? February 26, 2015 Sheffield’s manufacturing heartlands were once dominated by grey steel, but now they make something more colourful. Sheffield council’s recent push to boost exports has helped one hair dye manufacturer win a six-figure contract to make hair dye for Asian consumers – and it won’t be the last. “Our initiative is already targeting 60 companies in [...]
Glencore scales back exports February 26, 2015 GLENCORE said today it planned to cut coal exports from its Australian mines by about 15 per cent in 2015 to ensure the mines remain profitable as coal prices languish near five-and-a-half-year lows. The world’s biggest exporter of coal for power stations said it would cut exports by 15m tonnes. It will carry out the [...]
City Moves for 27 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 26, 2015 Octopus Investments The fund management firm has appointed Richard Wazacz as business line manager for venture capital trusts. He was formerly corporate development director for UK and Europe at Prudential. Wazacz has also held senior positions at Lloyds Banking Group. BLP The law firm has appointed Daniyal Ansari as partner in its real estate finance [...]
Turnaround at Qantas starts to pay off for Joyce February 26, 2015 SHARES in Qantas took off yesterday, at one point reaching AU$3 for the first time since 2008, as results for the six months to 31 December showed a return to profit. The company’s underlying profit before tax was AU$367m (£186m), beating market expectations of AU$350m. The airline also posted revenue of AU$8.1bn, up from AU$7.9bn [...]
French energy firm hammered by sunny skies and sliding oil prices February 26, 2015 FRENCH energy firm GDF Suez blamed warm weather and a decline in oil prices for a fall in profits, leading the company to announce a short-term restructuring plan. The group, which also experienced problems with its Belgian nuclear reactors last year, saw revenues for 2014 fall seven per cent to €74.7bn (£54bn). The firm said [...]
Best of the Brokers for 27 February 2015 February 26, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS Numis upgraded its rating on the multinational telecommunications from “add” to “buy”. Full-year 2014 results were slightly ahead of expectations, with the business returning to growth and gross margins improving in the second half of the year. Target price moved from [...]
StanChart’s new man lifts FTSE to a record level – London Report February 26, 2015 Britain’s top equity index yesterday hit a record closing high – for the second time this week – helped by a surge in the share price of the Asian-focused bank Standard Chartered. Standard Chartered advanced by 5.4 per cent as traders welcomed its appointment of a new chief executive, former JP Morgan investment bank boss [...]
Nasdaq heads towards 5,000 but Dow slips – New York Report February 26, 2015 THE NASDAQ resumed its recent advance yesterday after deal news in the technology sector, while the Dow and S&P 500 dipped as energy shares sank with oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 10.15 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 18,214.42, the S&P 500 lost 3.12 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 2,110.74 and [...]
