McBride profit up despite raw materials price hike September 2, 2010 McBride, Europe’s biggest maker of retailer own-brand household and personal care goods, said it faced rising raw material costs and weak retail markets as it met forecasts with a 38 per cent rise in annual profit. However the British-based group, which warned about a tough outlook in June, said it was better placed to cope [...]
Recruiter Hays sees profit dive by 80pc September 2, 2010 Recruiter Hays posted an 80 per cent drop in full year pre-tax profit, hit by tough trading conditions in the first half. Hays, which places people in white collar jobs, said it made a pre-tax profit of £29.7m in the year to 30 June, against £151m last year. However, the company said the UK private [...]
House prices drop for second month September 2, 2010 House prices fell for the second month in a row in August, according to the Nationwide building society. Prices dropped 0.9 per cent last month, following a 0.5 per cent fall decline in July. It is the first time that prices have fallen for two consecutive months since February 2009. The average UK house price [...]
DSG on track after iPad and world cup sales boost September 2, 2010 Electricals retailer DSG International said its total group sales were up three per cent after a boost from Word Cup TV sales and the success of the iPad. In an update on trading for the 12 weeks ended 24 July the company, which owns Currys and PC World in the UK, said its online sales [...]
Manufacturing growth stalls September 1, 2010 GROWTH in the country’s manufacturing sector slowed more than expected last month, led by the weakest expansion in new orders for more than a year, a purchasing managers’ survey showed. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Manufacturing PMI fell to 54.3 in August – from a downwardly revised 56.9 in July. That was the [...]
Vivendi ups forecast as profit rises September 1, 2010 MEDIA giant Vivendi has raised its forecast for 2010 after reporting a four per cent rise in first-half profit. Vivendi saw a net profit of 1.53bn euros (£1.26bn) in the first six months of the year, up from the 1.47bn euros it made a year ago. But the comnow expects 2010 profit to exceed the [...]
China considers probe into BHP Billiton’s bid for Potash Corp September 1, 2010 China may launch an antimonopoly probe into BHP Billiton’s $39bn (£25bn) bid for Canada’s Potash Corp, the China Business News has claimed. China will also review the merger of two Russian potash firms – Uralkali and Silvinit – given the major impact the two deals would have on China, the paper cited the unnamed source [...]
BP to sell Malaysian interests for £236m September 1, 2010 BP is to sell its ethylene and polyethylene operations in Malaysia to Petronas for $363m (£236m) in cash, continuing a disposal programme as a result of the huge financial cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The oil giant said that it would sell its 15 per cent stake in Ethylene Malaysia (EMSB) and [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown sees profit surge in record year September 1, 2010 BROKER Hargreaves Lansdown has seen pre-tax profit up 18 per cent while assets under management also surged. The company’s figures, covering the year to the end of June, showed growth in every category as it emerged strongly from the recession. Pre-tax profit was £86.3m while total assets under administration rose by 47 per cent to [...]
Eurozone unemployment remains at record ten per cent August 31, 2010 Unemployment in the eurozone remained at ten per cent for a fifth month in a row, according to official figures. Almost 16m people remain unemployed in the 16 countries that use the euro, the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said. The agency also reported a fall in the rate of inflation in the eurozone. In August, [...]
