Hornby profits up November 11, 2011 Hornby posted an 80 per cent jump in first-half pre-tax profits with a turnover of £28.4m, increasing 11 per cent from the same period last year. The owner of model railway, model car brands, and Airfix models, Hornby said it is expecting positive results from the full year. Christmas traffic and a new line of [...]
Italian senate passes austerity bill November 11, 2011 The Italian senate has passed a bill of financial austerity measures demanded by the European Union. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has promised to resign once the bill, which is expected to pass a special weekend session of the lower house tomorrow, becomes law. The package increases VAT from 20 per cent to 21 per cent [...]
FTSE in modest gains as Italy and Greece fight to win back market credibility November 11, 2011 Banks led modest FTSE 100 gains in early trading as Greece and Italy fought to convince investors that they could fight back from the economic abyss. Italy, the latest Eurozone nation to come under pressure in the bond market, moved closer to a national unity government, while its treasury managed to sell one-year bills at [...]
HSBC makes £277m China investment November 11, 2011 HSBC is investing 2.8bn yuan (£277m) into its China unit, as it announces plans to cut jobs in London, New York and Hong Kong. Just days after the company announced it is keeping open the option to move its headquarters from London, the move suggests the bank is shifting its focus eastwards. The capital of [...]
Construction falls but beats expectations November 11, 2011 The construction industry contracted less than expected in the three months to September, but darker days may be on the horizon. The Office for National Statistics reported little change in the state of the sector, overall output dropping by just 0.2 per cent from the figure for the same period last year. The ONS had [...]
IAG targets £1bn profit by 2015 November 11, 2011 British Airways and Iberia owner IAG said it had increased its growth and cost savings targets and expected to make an operating profit of around 1.5bn euros (£1bn) in 2015. Europe’s second-biggest airline group by value behind Germany’s Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said it expected to achieve annual synergies of 450m euros in 2015, the fifth year [...]
Rolls-Royce sees 2011 profits grow November 11, 2011 Aero enginemaker Rolls-Royce said it had performed well in the third-quarter and expects to deliver strong growth in full-year profit, shrugging off turmoil in financial markets. Rolls, the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind U.S. group General Electric Co (GE.N), on Friday said it had continued to make progress since the half year, helped [...]
Barclays private equity unit in management buyout November 11, 2011 Barclays Private Equity is being bought out by its own management team and will be relaunched as Equistone Partners Europe, it said, adding that the value of the gross assets being sold off was expected to be around £45m. Barclays, which last month posted higher profits as gains in its retail banking and credit card [...]
Papademos to lead Greek coalition November 10, 2011 Former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos will head Greece’s new crisis coalition, the president’s office said on Thursday, ending suspense over who will try to save the country from default, bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. The coalition will be sworn in at 1200 British time on Friday, a presidential official said [...]
UK interest rates held at 0.5pc November 10, 2011 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has held interest rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent while its quantitative easing (QE) programme will stay at £275bn. The MPC pumped an extra £75bn into the economy last month amid signs the economic recovery was stalling.
