Resolution profits rise August 16, 2011 Insurance consolidator Resolution reported stronger interim profits, driven by acquisitions, and said it was on course to hit its financial targets. Resolution, created to buy underperforming UK life insurers and merge them into a more profitable whole, made a pre-tax operating profit of £390m in the six months to 30 June, up from 151 million [...]
Thomas Cook gets final go-ahead for Co-op travel deal August 16, 2011 The Competition Commission has cleared a merger between struggling Thomas Cook’s UK retail business and those of the Co-operative group and Midlands Co-operative Society, to create the country’s biggest retail travel operation. The deal will bring together three of the biggest travel agents on the high street. Thomas Cook currently has 780 stores, while the [...]
German economic growth stutters August 16, 2011 The German economy;s growth slowed between April and June, and was weaker at the start of the year than previously thought, figures show. The economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the quarter, according to provisional figures from the national statistics office. Growth in the first three months of the year was 1.3 per cent [...]
Google to buy Motorola Mobility for £7.6bn August 15, 2011 Google Inc said it will buy Motorola Mobility Holdings for about $12.5bn (£7.6bn) in cash. The Mobility business includes Motorola’s smartphones and analysts are seeing the move as part of Google’s plans to take on Apple in the lucrative market. The $40 a share offer is at a 63 per cent premium to Motorola Mobility’s [...]
Storm clouds pass as market recovers August 15, 2011 The FTSE 100 edged up this morning as the market recovery continued to gain traction. Following gains in Asia overnight London’s blue chip index opened down but quickly regained its footing. The gains came ahead of a crucial summit between France and Germany tomorrow to hammer out a solution to the Eurozone debt crisis which [...]
Miles: No further QE needed for now August 15, 2011 The economy does not need more stimulus from quantitative easing now, though there could be times where it would do, Bank of England policymaker David Miles has said. “There could be circumstances under which I would judge the right policy would be to embark on further asset purchases but that’s not how I’ve seen things [...]
Virgin sells UKTV stake to Scripps for £239m August 15, 2011 Virgin Media has sold its 50 per cent stake in UKTV, home to 10 channels including Dave and GOLD, to Scripps Networks for £239m as part of its strategy to move away from content production. Scripps, which will also pay about £100m to acquire the outstanding preferred stock and debt owed by UKTV to Virgin [...]
Mitie sees order book hit record levels August 15, 2011 Construction and outsourcing firm Mitie said its financial year had started well with profit and revenues in line with expectations and that it was extremely positive about the outlook thanks to a record order book. Mitie, which provides services from cleaning to engineering, said on Monday it had made significant progress in each of its [...]
Japan on path to recovery after quake crisis August 15, 2011 Japan’s economy shrank much less than expected in the second quarter as companies made strides in restoring output after the devastating earthquake in March, but a soaring yen and slowing global growth cloud the prospects for a sustained recovery. Analysts expect the world’s third-largest economy to rebound in July-September, probably expanding at the fastest rate [...]
Asian shares bounce back August 15, 2011 Asian shares bounced back overnIght and European stocks looked set to follow as investors returned to pick up bargains, while havens like gold and the Swiss franc lost appeal. But broader markets remained fragile ahead of a key Franco-German summit that may offer a solution out of the spreading debt crisis. A 0.8 per cent [...]
