Black cab maker Manganese Bronze issues profit warning January 9, 2012 Black cab maker Manganese Bronze has said it made no profit in 2011 and could fall miss targets this year. The group blamed the weak UK economy, uncertainty over the global economic outlook and a delay in fulfilling an order for 1,000 taxis from Azerbaijan. The firm sold 1,502 taxis in the UK last year, [...]
JD Sports buys Blacks assets for £20m January 9, 2012 JD Sports has confirmed that it has bought the assets of outdoor clothing retailer Blacks for £20m. Blacks Leisure has 98 Blacks outlets and 208 Millets stores. It also owns the Peter Storm and Eurohike brands. JD Sport Fashions said in a statement: “JD Sports Fashion , the leading retailer of sport and athletic inspired [...]
HMV gets Xmas sales still flagging January 9, 2012 Struggling British entertainment retailer HMV got a little respite over Christmas as sales declines slowed, providing a glimmer of hope the firm may have a future. The group, which last month posted wider first-half losses, said it was in danger of going out of business and put its HMV Live division up for sale, said [...]
Lloyds in talks to sell UAE business January 9, 2012 Lloyds Banking Group is in talks to dispose of its operations in the United Arab Emirates, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank emerging as the frontrunner to pick up the business, according to Reuters sources. The bank, which is 40 per cent owned by the government, has appointed Rothschild as an adviser for the sale, two [...]
Morrisons sales growth slows over Christmas January 9, 2012 Wm Morrison Supermarkets reported a slowdown in sales growth over Christmas and predicted cash-strapped shoppers would remain reluctant to spend this year, despite an easing of inflationary pressures. Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer behind J Sainsbury, Wal-Mart’s Asda and industry leader Tesco) said sales at stores open over a year rose 0.7 per cent, excluding fuel and [...]
US jobless rate falls January 6, 2012 US employment grew solidly last month and the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent, offering the strongest evidence yet of an acceleration in economic activity. Nonfarm payrolls increased 200,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, the most in three months and way above economists’ expectations for a 150,000 [...]
FTSE steady as investors eye US jobs data January 6, 2012 The FTSE 100 was steady in early trading with media and telecoms gains offsetting weak financial services and retail sectors. Investors were focusing on US jobs data out later while the Eurozone debt crisis continued to dampen sentiment. Analysts’ fears that Eurozone countries and banks could struggle to tap markets for capital this year continue [...]
House prices fall in December January 6, 2012 House prices fell 0.9 per cent on the month in December, mortgage lender Halifax said, confounding expectations of a modest pick-up. House prices fell 1.3 per cent in the three months to December versus a year ago, a bigger decline than the 0.8 per cent drop forecast by analysts. The average price of a home [...]
Blacks Leisure heads for prepack administration January 6, 2012 Blacks Leisure has it is to temporarily to enter administration ahead of a takeover deal. The prepack arrangement will wipe out the value of existing shares, which have now been suspended from trading on the London Stock Exchange. The retailer said it was mulling offers for the business and that a deal was likely to [...]
Woodford to sue Olympus for unfair dismissal January 6, 2012 The ousted British CEO of Olympus Corp, who blew the whistle on a $1.7BN accounting fraud, dropped his bid to return to the medical device maker, blaming cozy ties between its scandal-tainted management and big Japanese shareholders and saying the saga had taken its toll on his family. Michael Woodford’s campaign against its management rocked [...]
