Costain makes improved offer for Mouchel January 21, 2011 British construction firm Costain has made an improved takeover approach worth around £172 million pounds for struggling business services group Mouchel. The proposal comprises 0.5531 Costain shares and 30 pence in cash for each Mouchel share which, based on Costain’s closing share price of 222.75 pence on Thursday, values each Mouchel share at around 153.2 [...]
Morgan Stanley profit up 60 per cent January 20, 2011 Morgan Stanley posted a 60 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit, helped by rising revenue in its retail brokerage business. Morgan Stanley, the second-largest U.S. investment bank, said fourth-quarter shareholder profit was $600 million (£375m), or 41 cents a share, compared with $376m, or 29 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Factory orders fall in January January 20, 2011 Factory orders unexpectedly fell in January, but firms are still expecting to raise prices markedly in the coming months, the CBI’s industrial trends survey showed. The Confederation of British Industry survey’s total order book balance fell to -16 this month from a 30-month high of -3 in December. Analysts had expected a reading of -2. [...]
EasyJet takes £18m hit from snow January 20, 2011 EasyJet took an £18m hit from last month’s big freeze, though the pain was eased by rising first-quarter revenues as more travellers opted to fly with the low-cost carrier. The budget airline said that revenues for the final three months of 2010 rose 7.5 per cent to £654m pounds as passenger numbers rose 8.8 per [...]
RSA warns over payouts from bad weather January 20, 2011 Insurer RSA said losses due to bad weather in November and December had been about £142m worse than normal after Britain suffered one of the worst winters in decades. For 2010 as a whole, the company said that the weather impact was about £255m more than it might normally expect but that RSA’s policy of [...]
Primark fuels AB Foods sales rise January 20, 2011 Primark-owner Associated British Foods reported a ten per cent rise in first-quarter sales led by its discount fashion retailer and saw further growth ahead despite the effect of higher commodity costs. The London-based group, which markets Silver Spoon sugar, Twining tea and Ovaltine drinks, said on Thursday its 214 Primark store chain had traded well [...]
Man Group still bleeding assets despite GLG deal January 20, 2011 Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager, continued to see client outflows, it said on Thursday, despite its recent acquisition of smaller rival GLG. Man, which has seen net client outflows for eight straight quarters even as rivals have won back investors, saw $1bn (£627m) of net outflows for the three months to [...]
UK jobless rate rises January 19, 2011 The number of Britons claiming unemployment benefit fell unexpectedly last month, while the number of people out of work rose in the three months to November, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics said the number of people claiming jobless benefit fell by 4,100 last month, confounding forecasts for a rise of 1,500 and [...]
HMV shares plunge as insurers reduce cover January 19, 2011 Credit insurers have reduced the cover they are prepared to give to suppliers of HMV Group following a profit warning from the music, books, DVDs and games retailer, hammering its shares. The withdrawal of credit insurance was a major blow to retailers like variety chain Woolworths and music retailer Zavvi as they tried, and failed, [...]
William Hill profit to come in at top of forecasts January 19, 2011 William Hill, Britain’s biggest bookmaker, said full-year operating profit would be at the top end of expectations after a surge in demand for in-play betting underpinned a strong fourth quarter. William Hill, which has around 2,300 betting shops in Britain and Ireland, said on Wednesday it expected an operating profit of around £275m for its [...]
