Scottish & Southern beats profit forecast May 20, 2011 Scottish & Southern Energy reported an annual profit above analysts’ expectations helped by favourable pricing of electricity units and new cost controls. SSE said changes in the price of electricity units following the introduction of new price controls, combined with cost controls in its networks businesses, bolstered full-year profit at the company, prompting a seven [...]
HMV in £53m deal to sell Waterstone’s May 20, 2011 HMV has agreed a deal to offload its Waterstone’s book chain to a fund headed by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut for £53m. Mamut already owns six per cent of HMV which has been struggling as downloads have hit its CD business, while sales at online retailers like Amazon have also taken off. The sale to [...]
Mitsui to pay BP £678m oil spill claim May 20, 2011 MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co, and partner in BP’s doomed Macondo well has agreed to pay the UK oil major $1.1bn (£678m) towards the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. MOEX had a 10 per cent stake in the well and was liable for a commensurate portion of [...]
FTSE buoyed by Glencore as IMF chief quits May 19, 2011 The FTSE 100 climbed this morning as commodities giant Glencore made its debut, helping to buoy European markets. But an announcement that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was standing down over assault charges in the US was the talk of the markets as the hunt for a successor starts. The re-building of the eurozone’s finances was [...]
Merkel backs European for top IMF job May 19, 2011 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will back a European candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She said it was important as the eurozone debt pile needed to be urgently addressed Germany is Europe’s biggest economy and so Ms Merkel’s voice carries considerable weight. Developing nations have said they want more of [...]
Moss bros in sales rise May 19, 2011 Moss Bros reported annual like-for-like sales growth of 8.2 per cent for the 15 weeks to 14 May. The company said that its benefitting from the cost reduction programme introduced in the second half of the 2010/11 financial year as well as the strengthening its product range. Moss Bros recently sold off its Boss franchise [...]
Royal Wedding and sunny weather boost retail sales May 19, 2011 Retail sales climbed more than expected in April, boosted by the extra holiday for the Royal Wedding and record temperatures, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes including automotive fuel rose 1.1 percent last month, well above analysts forecasts for an increase of 0.8 per cent, and the biggest rise for [...]
IMF chief quits over sex charges May 19, 2011 International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned following allegations he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. In a statement, Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, said he had already informed the executive board of his intention to step down “with immediate effect”. He again firmly denied the criminal charges against him. Strauss-Kahn – who is [...]
Bank of Ireland sees rise in deposits May 19, 2011 Bank of Ireland’s profit margins will continue to suffer from weak loan demand and high funding costs but a marginal rise in deposits has helped ease its reliance on emergency central bank funding, it said. Ireland’s largest lender said its loan to deposit ratio had improved by around 10 percentage points since the end of [...]
Takeda in $13bn deal for Nycomed May 19, 2011 Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan’s largest drugmaker, said it would buy privately held Swiss rival Nycomed for 9.6 billion euros ($13.6bn) as it seeks to expand in Europe and emerging markets. The deal marks the biggest overseas purchase by a Japanese company since Japan Tobacco paid $19bn (£11bn) for Britain’s Gallaher and is Takeda’s second major deal [...]
