Kesa sees profit surge but Comet struggles December 8, 2010 Kesa Electricals has seen its half-year profit surge after strong sales growth in Europe offset losses in the UK. Kesa, which owns the Comet chain, made a pre-tax profit of £22.9m in the six months to 31 October, up from £6m a year earlier. But the losses at Comet have reached £5.4m from £1.5m, which [...]
UK economic growth in 0.6 per cent growth says NIESR December 7, 2010 Economic growth in Britain is likely to have edged up to 0.6 per cent in the three months to November from 0.5 per cent in the three months to October, a leading think tank has said. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said the rise in British output would weaken the case for [...]
Manufacturing recovery gathers pace December 7, 2010 Manufacturing output rose twice as fast as expected in October, suggesting the country’s economic recovery remains on track in the final quarter of this year. Output rose 0.6 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said, its biggest rise since March and double expectations for a 0.3 per cent rise. The wider measure of industrial [...]
Bellway profit rises by 20pc December 7, 2010 British housebuilder Bellway said home reservations for the four months to November end were above its expectations, putting it on course for a 20 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit. “The decline in consumer confidence appears to have levelled out and people are still committing to purchase even at this time of year,” the [...]
Standard Life in £42m deal for Focus Solutions December 7, 2010 Standard Life has agreed to buy financial software company Focus Solutions Group for £42m, in a deal the insurer said would boost its customer services. Standard Life said that it was offering 140 pence in cash for each Focus Solutions share, representing a premium of around 9.8 per cent to Focus Solution’s closing share price [...]
Xstrata in $23bn expansion plan December 7, 2010 Miner Xstrata plans to spend $23bn (£14.6bn) on new mines by 2016 as it pushes forward with its organic growth programme instead of takeovers. The London-listed group expects to spend $6.8bn on expansionary capital spending next year, it said. It did not give a comparative figure for 2010, but in August, when it released interim [...]
Tesco boosted by Asian sales surge December 7, 2010 Tesco has reported am 8.8 per cent rise in the third quarter – helped by a strong performance from international stores. The supermarket chain said it was performing in line with market expectations while its market share was being boosted by the opening of more store space. Total international sales jumped by 15.7 per cent [...]
Mouchel shares surge by a third as suitors circle December 6, 2010 Struggling British business services group Mouchel said it had received bid approaches, sending its shares up a third in value to recover most of last week’s loss. The news overshadowed a warning from Mouchel that trading conditions remained challenging and it may need fresh funds if it fails to reach a refinancing deal with its [...]
Desire shares plunge as Falklands oil exploration fails December 6, 2010 Oil explorer Desire Petroleum said it did not make an oil discovery in the Falklands Islands, days after it said it believed it had, denting hopes that the territory will become a major new oil province. The company said that additional analysis of data from a key well in the British islands over which Argentina [...]
Car sales fall for fifth month December 6, 2010 Sales of new cars in the UK fell for the fifth month running in November. Registrations were down 11.5 per cent compared with same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The government’s Scrappage Incentive Scheme helped to lift sales last year. The programme expired in May and sales [...]
