Goldman hit by third quarter loss October 18, 2011 Goldman Sachs has posted a $428m net loss in the third quarter, only its second-ever quarterly loss as a public company, hurt by sharp declines in the value of investment securities and customer trading assets. The biggest investment bank in the US saw revenues slump 60 per cent to $3.6bn, from $8.9bn in the third [...]
Inflation at three-year high of 5.2pc October 18, 2011 Inflation in Britain hit a three-year high in September driven by soaring gas and electricity bills, data showed, adding to the severe squeeze on Britons’ living standards as wages have failed to keep up with rising prices. The jump highlights the risk to the Bank of England’s recent move to revive the faltering economic recovery [...]
Air France-KLM ousts chief as it looks to restructure October 18, 2011 Air France-KLM Shas ousted its chief executive and recalled the chief architects of the Franco-Dutch merger with a brief to eradicate losses while preparing for an anointed successor. Europe’s largest airline by revenues, which has fallen behind peers due to a cocktail of costs, debts and competition, said after board talks that recovery and the [...]
Whitbread beats target and hikes dividend October 18, 2011 Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread reported higher-than-expected first-half pre-tax profits and ramped up its interim dividend by over 50 per cent. Whitbread, which operates the Premier Inn and Costa Coffee chains, said underlying pre-tax profits rose by 15.2 per cent to £174.9m in the six months to 1 September against a consensus [...]
China economic growth slows October 18, 2011 China’s economic expansion slowed in the third quarter to its weakest pace since early 2009, but core domestic drivers of growth remained robust, suggesting little chance that monetary policy can be relaxed near term. Gross domestic product rose 9.1 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, moderating from 9.5 per cent in [...]
Arcadis to buy EC Harris October 17, 2011 Dutch engineering firm Arcadis said it would acquire London-based buildings and infrastructure consultant EC Harris to strengthen its position in project management and expand its presence in the Middle East and Asia. The company, which also cut its outlook for 2011 earnings, has been looking for opportunities away from the struggling Benelux market, looking to [...]
Rio Tinto launches $8bn asset sale October 17, 2011 Global miner Rio Tinto signalled a major retreat from its aluminium business on Monday, putting an estimated $8bn (£5bn) worth of assets up for sale across six countries, only four years after buying aluminium giant Alcan for $38bn. Rio Tinto said it planned to sell 13 assets, including smelters and alumina refineries, in a move [...]
G4S to buy ISS in £5.2bn deal October 17, 2011 Security services firm G4S agreed to buy Danish outsourcing service provider in a deal worth £5.2bn including debt, creating the world’s biggest security and facilities services group. G4S said it would pay £1.53bn to ISS, half in cash and half in shares, and would raise 1.88 billion pounds, net of expenses, to fund the deal [...]
BP and Anadarko in £2.5bn oil clean-up settlement October 17, 2011 Oil giant BP and Anadarko, its partner in the well which caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, have agreed a settlement on cleanup costs whereby Andarko will pay BP $4bn (£2.5bn) bill – less than half the amount it may have been forced to pay in court. BP said on Monday that as part [...]
H&M sees sales fall October 17, 2011 Swedish budget fashion group Hennes & Mauritz reported a seven per cent drop in sales at established stores in September, in line with forecasts as weak consumer sentiment dents shoppers’ demand for new autumn wear. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a drop of 6 percent in like-for-like sales. Estimates for the decline were [...]
