Retail guru locked in talks over future October 13, 2011 ONE of the City’s most respected and well-known analysts is one of five people who are discussing their futures with Arden Partners, as the firm embarks on a cost-cutting exercise in response to a fall-off in revenues. Retail analyst Nick Bubb is on paid leave along with colleague Geoff Allum as their future at the [...]
Fitch cuts ratings of Lloyds and RBS October 13, 2011 Ratings agency Fitch cut the credit score of bailed-out lenders Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, saying the government had become less likely to give them further financial support. Fitch’s downgrade of Lloyds and RBS followed a similar move last week from rival Moody’s, which also cited a reduced likelihood of additional state assistance for [...]
JPMorgan sees profits fall – but beats estimates October 13, 2011 JPMorgan Chase & Co reported lower third-quarter profits as investment banking fees fell with a slowdown in corporate dealmaking. The first major U.S. bank to announce results for the period, JPMorgan said earnings were $4.3bn (£2.8bn), or $1.02 a share, compared with $4.4bn, or $1.01 a share, a year earlier. However, the results were better [...]
Miners drag FTSE lower October 13, 2011 Miners led a retreat on the FTSE 100 today as copper prices dropped with global growth worries resurfacing following weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data. China’s trade surplus narrowed in September for a second month in a row as growth of exports and imports both fell below forecasts, reflecting global economic weakness. However in a boost for [...]
Blackberry users see “significant improvement” to service October 13, 2011 The maker of BlackBerry announced “significant improvement” to its services today after an ‘outage’ which has crippled emails. Research in Motion (RIM) has suffered problems since Monday, with millions of people unable to access email or web. The company previously insisted it was working “around the clock” to return the service to normal. In a [...]
Trade deficit narrows in August as exports hit record high October 13, 2011 The UK’s goods trade deficit narrowed more than expected in August as export values hit a record high and import values fell slightly, official data showed. The government is hoping that exports will help support the economy at a time of fiscal austerity at home and Thursday’s figures may provide some comfort that the rebalancing [...]
BP gets go ahead for £4.5bn North sea project October 13, 2011 The UK government has given the go-ahead for BP and three partners to proceed with a £4.5bn North Sea oil and gas project. BP, Shell , ConocoPhillips and Chevron will now enter the second phase of the Clair Ridge project, the development of a field west of the remote Scottish Shetland Islands. BP said the [...]
Glencore close to sealing Bakrie rescue deal October 13, 2011 Glencore, the world’s biggest commodities trader, is expected to sign a deal within days for a $800m (£508m) loan to Indonesia’s Bakrie Group to help it refinance a $1.35bn facility that became unexpectedly due, sources said on Thursday. In return, Glencore will be given the right to sell more coal produced by Bakrie-controlled Bumi and [...]
Rio Tinto reports record iron ore sales October 13, 2011 Global miner Rio Tinto brushed off fears of a global economic crisis reporting record iron ore sales and a five per cent jump in output for the third quarter, and forecasting continued strong commodities demand. The bullish production numbers and comments boosted shares in Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest miner of the steel-making commodity, and [...]
WH Smith profits up despite tough climate October 13, 2011 WH Smith posted an expected 4.5 per cent rise in year profit as its strategy of cutting costs and improving margins, rather than driving top-line sales, paid off in a tough market. “The economic conditions remain challenging, however we have planned accordingly,” chief executive Kate Swann said. The 219-year-old group made a pretax profit of [...]
