HSBC posts £7bn profit August 2, 2010 HSBC has reported a £7bn pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year. The figure was around double the amount for the same period last year. The bank was profitable in every region, except for North America. HSBC shareholders will receive a second dividend this year, the lender said. Margaret Leung, Vice-Chairman and [...]
Goldman Sachs stands by AIG deals August 2, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs said that it believed its trades with the bailed out insurer AIG during the financial crisis were accurate and its collateral calls made to AIG were reflective of the conditions in a deteriorated market. In a response submitted to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) last week, Goldman said it priced the collateral [...]
Tullett Prebon sees profit fall August 2, 2010 TULLETT Prebon, the world’s second-biggest interdealer broker, has posted a fall in half-year profits as the departure of brokers to a rival and adverse currency movements hit earnings. However, Tullett – which in May announced the end of talks over a possible takeover of the group – said it expected a “good outcome” for its [...]
BNP Paribas profit up after retail banking boost August 2, 2010 FRENCH bank BNP Paribas saw its second-quarter profit rise by 31 per cent – fuelled by its retail banking division. Net profit for the three months to July hit to 2.1bn euros (£1.75bn). Demand for mortgages was especially strong, the bank said. However, the investment banking division plummeted by 30 per cent. BNP said in [...]
Metro hails retail recovery August 2, 2010 METRO, the world’s fourth biggest retailer, lifted its investment budget amid growing confidence about economic recovery, as cost cutting helped it to meet quarterly earnings forecasts despite sluggish sales. The German group, which runs cash and carries, supermarkets, electrical goods and department stores, said on Monday it was lifting its capital spending budget for this [...]
US economic growth slows July 30, 2010 US economic growth slowed in the second quarter as a capital investment drive by businesses saw imports increasing at their fastest pace since the first quarter of 1984, a government report showed. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 per cent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate, after a revised 3.7 [...]
Bradford & Bingley back in the black July 30, 2010 Bradford & Bingley, the mortgage lender which was nationalised after running into problems during the credit crisis, said on Friday it had swung to a first-half profit after making a loss a year earlier. The bank reported a pretax profit of £896m for the six months ending June 30, having made a loss of £160m [...]
China overtakes Japan as world’s second largest economy July 30, 2010 CHINA has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, the fruit of three decades of rapid growth that has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Depending on how fast its exchange rate rises, China is on course to overtake the United States and vault into the No 1 spot sometime around [...]
Honda posts record profit for quarter July 30, 2010 HONDA has posted a record $3.15bn profit (£2bn) fuelled by strong sales in Asia. The Tokyo-based company revised up its annual net profit forecast by 33.8 per cent for the year ending March 2011. “The company posted a healthy operating profit and net profit, which both turned out to be the record high for a [...]
Virgin Atlantic sees £132m loss July 30, 2010 VIRGIN Atlantic has reported a pre-tax operating loss for the period March 2009 to February 2010 of £132m. That compared with a profit of £60m in the same period the year before. Revenues for 2009/10 dropped 8.6 per cent to £2.35bn but operating costs reduced by eight per cent. Virgin said it carried 15 per [...]
