Barclays profit hit by weak investment banking November 9, 2010 Barclays said key investment banking income remained weak in the past four months, countering a sharp improvement in bad debts that lifted the British bank’s underlying third-quarter profit. Barclays, whose chief executive John Varley will be succeeded by investment bank boss Bob Diamond at the end of March, said it made an underlying July-September pretax [...]
M&S profit up as Bolland unveils masterplan November 9, 2010 Marks and Spencer has reported half-year pre-tax profits of £348.8m, up from £306.7m last year. Marc Bolland, the company’s new chief executive, also revealed his blueprint for the future of the company. The company’s profit hike represented a 17 per cent rise. Bolland, who took over from Sir Stuart Rose earlier this year, said he [...]
Babcock deputy quits after attacking defence shake-up November 8, 2010 Lord Hesketh, the deputy chairman of Babcock, has resigned after he labelled the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier programme a “disaster”. His resignation from the engineering group followed a report in the Daily Telegraph in which he was reported as saying the project would make the country a “laughing stock”. Babcock is building the carriers at [...]
Commerzbank hit by mortgage losses November 8, 2010 Commerzbank has been hit by losses on commercial mortgages and the costs of integrating Dresdner Bank, it has reported. Third-quarter net profit of €113m (£97.6m) was below a €164m analysts’ estimate,. However, it is a turnaround from a loss of more than a billion euros a year ago. Commerzbank’s eastern European business dropped to a [...]
Asos in profit surge November 8, 2010 Online fashion retailer Asos today said profits were up by nearly two thirds. The firm made a pre-tax profit of £7m in the six months to September 30, up 59 per cent from £4.4m in the period last year. Revenue was up 45 per cent to £139.7m. Chief executive Nick Robertson said: “As we head [...]
Shell to sell stake in Woodside Petroleum November 8, 2010 Royal Dutch Shell has unveiled plans to sell about a third of its stake in Woodside Petroleum for $3.3bn (£2bn). Shell said it would hang onto its remaining 24.27 per cent Woodside stake for at least a year – but it could sell earlier under certain circumstances such as a full takeover of Woodside. Woodside [...]
Rok plunges into administration November 8, 2010 Building and social housing repairs firm Rok said it would go into administration and trading in its shares was suspended. “The board of Rok plc announces that it has resolved to put the company into administration and to make an application to the Financial Services Authority to suspend the listing and trading of the company’s [...]
Gartmore in new blow as top manager steps down November 8, 2010 Gartmore’s top European fund manager Roger Guy is to leave the firm, the company has announced – sending the share price tumbling. The decision comes after Guy’s co-manager Guillaume Rambourg resigned over an FSA investigation into his dealings. The news wiped 15 per cent off the company’s share price after the FTSE opened. Meanwhile chief [...]
BSkyB hits 10m customer target November 8, 2010 BSkyB has hit its long-held aim of 10 million customers, making it the choice of 36 per cent of households in the UK and Ireland. BSkyB, which provides pay-TV, broadband and telephony, set the target in 2004, to initial scepticism from analysts who thought it would be too tough. “To be the choice of 10 [...]
AIG hit by $2.4bn loss November 5, 2010 American International Group has reported third-quarter losses of $2.4bn (£1.47bn). The insurer made the losses as it sold parts of its business to repay more than $100bn owed from the bail-out two years ago. The $2. 4bn loss compares with a $455m profit made a year ago.
